Sonic X: The Invasion
by Powershade117
Summary: A Sonic X and G1 Transformers crossover. The Decepticons are getting getting tired of the Autobots meddling in their attempts to drain Earth of its energy, so now Megatron sets his sights on another prize that was recently discovered; a world that he intends to see conquered in the name of the Decepticons so he can destroy the Autobots once and for all: Planet Mobius.
1. Chapter 1: Watchers

It was a long and merciless war. The Metarex were destroying everything in their way without any compassion or mercy. Their armada had become a force to be feared by all who crossed them, as there were little to no survivors when they attacked. Planets would die in their wake, as the Planet Eggs that sustained the life on those planets were removed and used for many nefarious purposes. They quested to obtain the legendary Chaos Emeralds to achieve their ultimate goal. Their goal was to cleanse the galaxy of all animal life in the, only to replace it with plant life. If not for the acts of a few brave heroes, this would have become a reality.

Sonic the Hedgehog and his small band of friends journeyed into the depths of space to stop them. Despite the odds, they fought valiantly, never surrendering or losing faith. There were casualties, but their sacrifices have not been forgotten. Thanks to their bravery and self-sacrifice, the crew of the Blue Typhoon lived to fight another day. Ever since returning home, the lives of Sonic and his friends have been quieter. Their old enemy, known as Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, had gone into hiding and mad no appearance in months. Things were peaceful now. However, like most moments of quiet, it's only the calm before the storm.

Sonic the Hedgehog knew this as he ran all around the wide open spaces of Mobius; his home planet where the native life forms were anthropomorphic animals of various species, ranging from hedgehogs to foxes to bats. The cool clean air rushed past Sonic's blue fur as he ran, leaving a blue streak behind him wherever he went. To Sonic, this calm was only temporary until someone decides to break it with the promise of adventure, something that Sonic loved all too much. But with no such event occurring, he spent most of his free time running or chatting with his many friends.

It was morning and the day was a very special day for Sonic. Princess Sally from the Kingdom of Acorn, one of the most powerful and well respected nations on the face of Mobius, wanted to publicly honor the heroes who saved Mobius from the same fate of death that had befallen so many other worlds that the Metarex attacked. Even though formal events were not Sonic's usual idea of fun, he sure didn't mind being recognized for his and his friends' efforts. The first thing he wanted to do before going was to check on his buddy, Tails. If Sonic was to attend this honor, he wanted his right-hand man to be there as well.

Sonic ran up to Tails's workshop he had set up in the Emerald Hills that was also set up as a self-sustaining home. Tails had no doubt already received an invitation, but Sonic just wanted to be sure. Tails was not only Sonic's best friend, but also a genius inventor that was always coming up with new machines and gizmos that would humble many older scientific minds. In no time at all, Sonic was at the door, eager to see what his best friend had invented this time. A young two-tailed fox with bright yellow fur answered the door with a huge smile spread across his face.

"How you doin' Tails?"

Tails stepped aside and let Sonic in as he answered his question gleefully. "I've been great, Sonic. There sure has been a lot more time to work on projects with everything being quiet."

Sonic shrugged. "Eh…I'd prefer to be doing something exciting. It's been getting boring here lately."

Tails couldn't help but chuckle at Sonic's remark. "Do you consider this ceremony from Queen Sally to be exciting?"

"Not as much fun as kicking Eggman's fat butt all over the place, but it'll do for now."

In a way, Tails agreed. Events like these didn't interest Tails either because he didn't have a strong desire to be recognized as a hero. It didn't bother him either, and in his mind, it would be rude to not show up. "Nice distraction from the regular daily routine though, right?"

"I suppose. What about the others. Amy, Cream, Knuckles?"

"Are you kidding? Amy's probably already there, along with Cream. I uh…think she wanted to meet you there?"

Sonic sighed at the remark. "Same old Amy; always chasing that which she can't catch."

"You have to admire her persistence though. How long has she been chasing after you, Sonic?"

"Too long. So, what about Knuckles?"

"I haven't heard from him. Still up there on Angel Island guarding the Master Emerald I guess. I…don't think we can count on his appearance."

"Eh. Well I won't force him. He was always a party pooper anyway. Remember back on the Blue Typhoon when he wrecked the Chaotix for," Sonic stopped mid-sentence to chuckle at the old story. "-Hehe, painting his face with a marker."

"Heh. Yeah. That time. It was also the time I almost…" Tails couldn't finish the sentence, as it reminded him of a friend they lost in the war.

Sonic caught on and decided that it would be best to change the subject. "Uh, right. Anyway…shall we get going?"

"Yeah. Let's take the Tornado." Tails lead Sonic out of the main house and into the workshop that was accessible from the house through a code-locked door. The inside of the workshop was spacious, well lit, and filled with crates, tools, and workbenches. In the center of the large workshop was Tails's pride and joy, the X-Tornado. Modeled into an advanced fighter jet from a basic biplane back on Earth, the X-Tornado was a powerful, fast, and agile flying machine that Tails often used as his personal transportation method. Climbing into the plane, Sonic and Tails got ready to head out toward the Kingdom of Acorn.

"I wonder how often we'll be called to attend events like this," Tails wondered.

Sonic tried not to think about that. One formal gathering was enough for his adventurous spirit. Sonic remarked to himself, "This is the only one I plan to attend. That is mostly because Princess Sally and I…go back."

"What? Did you say something, Sonic?"

"Uh, never mind. Just thinking aloud. Let's go."

With that said, Tails fired up the engines. After a final system check, he pulled back on the throttle and cleared the hanger. It was now a straight shot to the queen's castle. Little did they know that their entire encounter was watched by something; something mechanical.

_Two indigenous life forms documented; Sonic the Hedgehog and Tails. Conversational data indicates a significant level of prestige, power, and skill. Targets selected for future observation to assess potential threat to primary energy gathering endeavors_

* * *

"The Master Emerald has been restored and my duties have resumed; guarding the Master Emerald from any who would threaten it," Knuckles remarked to himself as he stood vigilant atop the temple on the floating Angel Island. This island was Knuckles's home floating high in the sky and the same place that housed his most prized possession, the Master Emerald. Being a gem of limitless power, enough so that it allows Angel Island to be permanently suspended high within the clouds of Mobius, it has and still does stand as a potential magnet for evil-doers everywhere. By now, someone would have already stolen it and used it for any number of things. Of course, none have yet. In order to claim such a prize, they would have to go through its stalwart guardian, Knuckles the Echidna.

A creature of habit, honor, and obligation, Knuckles is the eternal guardian of the Master Emerald. Even though he doesn't know why he does it, he knows it is his duty to keep the massive green gem safe from any who would seek to harm or steal it. With so many people in the past wanting it for their own greedy reasons, Knuckles grew to distrust many newcomers, sometimes to the point of violence. This also allowed him to hone is combat and fighting skills. Despite this rough side of him, Knuckles was not without a soft side. He can count Sonic as a friend after all.

Knuckles was well aware of the invitation to the Kingdom of Acorn, but he didn't care. With Knuckles, it was always duty first. And his first and foremost duty is to serve as the Master Emerald's guardian. Mobius was still not a safe place for the emerald, with the villainous Doctor Eggman still at large and the thieving Rouge flying about somewhere. Knuckles would not shirk his duty so that he could go to this social event. Deep down however, he did wish he could, which only added to his frustration.

"But I must stay and protect the emerald…and my newest charge." Knuckles reached into his fur within his dreadlocks and pulled out a glowing gem that was similar in shape to the Master Emerald, but was smaller and colored red; a Chaos Emerald. "Ever since we decided to divide the emeralds among each of us after we returned from space, my job has become all the more important. Not only must I keep the Master Emerald safe, but this Chaos Emerald as well. Still don't know why we agreed to let that scoundrel Rouge have one."

"Because I guard mine as jealously as you guard your two," a familiar feminine voice from behind spoke. Knuckles spun around and dashed to the other side of the Master Emerald to behold a sight he never took pleasure in seeing, especially not around his emerald. Standing there was a white-furred bat with tan skin, wearing almost knee high high-heeled boots, long white gloves, and a black jumpsuit with a pink heart on the chest. Knuckles would recognize Rouge the Bat anywhere. "And seriously, do you always talk to yourself up here?"

Brushing her question aside, Knuckles stared at her with a scowl on his face. "Well? What are you doing here, Rouge?" Knuckles asked coldly.

"Aww, what? No 'hello' or 'how have you been'? I thought you'd be at least a little pleased to see…well anyone since you got back." One thing that Rouge never got tired of was teasing Knuckles. This visit was no different.

Knuckles knew her ploy and chose to ignore her comment, though he was already irritated by her mere presence. "I only exchange pleasantries to those I trust. No one else gets such, especially not to known jewel thieves."

"We all have our hobbies, Big Red. Some are just more…exciting than others. Besides, I didn't steal this emerald," she said as she pulled the purple Chaos Emerald from a hidden pocket in her outfit. "I was allowed to have ownership of it until the time was needed to use them again."

Knuckles was starting to get agitated with her snobby attitude. "Well we'll just see how good your word is on that part of the deal. But you still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?"

"Straight to business it is then? No recreational time at all? Gonna pass up the opportunity to be admired by all of your fans to guard this shiny rock? Don't get me wrong, it is a very pretty shiny rock." She seemed to eye the Master Emerald with a little more longing in her eyes than what made Knuckles comfortable as she said that.

"Do you think I'm stupid? It's your affinity for this 'shiny rock' that keeps me here to guard my charge. So if you're trying to get me to leave my post so that you can get away with my emerald, you've got another thing coming."

"Is that a hint of jealousy I hear? Craving a life free from this duty and obligation?"

While Knuckles did harbor such thoughts, he wasn't about to let what he wanted get in the way of his responsibility. "No. This is where I belong, protecting the Master Emerald from the likes of you."

Rouge chuckled at his remark. "You big dolt, how can I steal it while I'm getting lots of praise at the royal palace?"

Now she got the red echidna's attention. "Wait. You're going to this event? Why?"

"What can I say? I'm a firm believer in getting recognized for a job well done. And since I did help save the galaxy, I figure some of that fame is mine as well. Who knows, I might even get a few shiny presents. Don't you think you deserve such praise too?"

Knuckles crossed his arms, turned his back, and looked at the Master Emerald. "I don't need praise. I did what needed to be done, and that is enough for me."

Rouge could only deal with his stubbornness for so long before realizing that reasoning with him was nearly impossible. "Okay then. I suppose we all have our ambitions. Well you have fun up here…by yourself…with your jewels. I'm going to the palace." With that, Rouge flapped her wings and took to the air, flying up into the air and away from the island, leaving Knuckles atop the Master Emerald Temple.

Knuckles watched her leave, thinking to himself. _I've got better things to do than go to some party, let alone listen to that bat._

Meanwhile, as Rouge put distance between herself and Angel Island, she was unaware of a silent observer watching her. Her follower was less interested in her, instead more interested in the gem she carried with her.

_Powerful energy source detected; small in size, but energy readings indicate that power is suitable for conversion, but won't suffice as an indefinite source. I will continue to monitor the situation to see if such a power source will be profitable in the end_

* * *

Outside the castle walls of Castle Acorn, the pink hedgehog named Amy Rose and her young rabbit friend named Cream, along with Cream's small Chao friend Cheese, were sitting on a bench amongst the beautiful flowers and gentle-flowing fountains. Standing in front of them was a brown furred squirrel-chipmunk girl. Wearing a royal purple blue gown garbed in gold trim, she stood in front of the other two girls, carrying out a friendly conversation.

"It's so nice to be here, Princess Sally," Cream thanked sincerely as she bowed her head. "Your castle is so beautiful. Thanks for having us over."

"It's my pleasure, Cream. I would have invited all of you much earlier than this, but there were matters to attend to."

"I've actually never been to the Acorn Kingdom before. Come to think of it, I don't know if Sonic has either."

The princess's ears perked up at the mention of that name. "Sonic the Hedgehog? Yeah, he's been here. He saved the most beautiful section of this Kingdom, the Starlight Road, from the clutches of Dr. Robotnik years ago."

Amy was amazed to hear this. Sonic rarely spoke to her about his adventures or about anything for that matter. "Really!? He's never mentioned you before though. And…Doctor Robotnik?"

"Well, Sonic and I never actually spoke personally. I only saw him from a distance as he battled Robotnik and his robot armies, single-handedly driving the main force out along with Robotnik himself."

"That's amazing. I knew he was such a hero. That's my Sonic." Amy closed her eyes in a dreamy state as she spoke about her long-time crush, provoking a small giggle from both Cream and Sally. She quickly snapped back to reality when she heard them. "What?"

Sally quickly retorted, "Nothing, Amy. It's just…cute how much you like him."

Amy didn't like the princess's tone, and got defensive. "Hey! He's my Sonic! Even if…he doesn't return my feelings…But I will keep at it! So don't get any ideas, princess!"

"Amy, please," Cream pleaded. "Not now. I'm sure she has no intention of dating him. We should be polite to our host."

"No offense taken, Amy. Just…don't try too hard, ya hear?" Sally smiled encouragingly and winked at the pink hedgehog. Amy relaxed and smiled back, feeling sorry for what she had just said.

"So when are the others going to get here?" Cream asked.

Sally's expression went from encouragement to concern. "I'm not sure. Invitations were sent out, and all the local citizens that wish to see you heroes are gathered in the main assembly area. I do wish they will get here soon though. Some are getting…restless. They are eager to see you."

Cream's face lit up a bit with that statement. "Are we really that famous? All we did was the right thing. Those mean Metarex had to be stopped."

"I agree with that. But regardless of your reasons, many see you all as heroes. Thus, they want to see you. But where-," Before Sally could finish her statement, the sound of roaring engines was heard up in the sky. Looking up, the three saw the shape of the X-Tornado coming in.

Finding a flat patch of grass just outside the castle Tails touched down in a nearby flat grassy field. Sonic and Tails stepped out and took in a deep of fresh air, taking in the surroundings. The castle walls were quite high, but the castle inside was even bigger. Many towers, concourses, and conjoined structures formed the massive superstructure. Both of them stared up in awe as the towers seemed to extend toward the sky. Their trance was broken when Sonic heard a high pitched and excited squeal from Amy.

"Sonic! You made it!" Amy yelled as she ran toward him with Cream and Sally jogging slowly behind her, less excited and more amused. Sonic froze as Amy rushed him. Unable to move mostly out of shock, Sonic just stood there as Amy jumped at him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you after all this time!"

Sonic looked at Tails, who only smiled sympathetically and shrugged. Sonic then said to Amy, "Uh, yeah…sure. Now, would you please let go?" Upon releasing him, still dreamy eyed, Cream and Sally arrived on the scene. "Hi princess," Sonic greeted as the two shook hands.

"Been a while, Sonic. Still saving the planet, I see."

"That and more, such as saving the whole galaxy," Sonic boasted.

"So who else are we waiting on?" Tails asked.

"Still waiting on Knuckles, Rouge, and the Chaotix Detective Agency," Sally answered.

Off behind them coming from the main road, they heard three different voices. Turning around, they quickly recognized them as Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee, and their leader Vector the Crocodile. They were arguing with each other too. "I didn't need directions, Espio," Vector exclaimed. "I just got turned around, that's all."

Espio scoffed. "Turned around is the same as lost, Vector."

"Well I didn't see you coming up with any brilliant ideas!"

"That's because you wouldn't let me get a word in edge wise about the situation."

Charmy then interjected. "He did ask you if you knew the way, Espio."

"To which I said 'no'. Then he proceeded to claim that he knew the way anyway."

"Well we're here now, aren't we?" Vector asked. "Judging by the gathering outside that fox boy's plane, I'd say we didn't miss anything."

"Don't worry gentlemen, your timing is fine," Sally reassured as she could hear that last comment clearly.

"Your highness," Vector greeted as he knelt on one knee and bowed his head in respect, soon followed by Espio doing the same thing. Charmy was confused, and just proceeded to hover in the air.

Sally chuckled at the gesture. While it was flattering, she reassured them by saying, "Gentlemen, please. Such notions are appreciated, but hardly necessary. This is your day after all."

"Thank you, your highness," Vector said as he and Espio both rose to their feet.

Sally nodded and then remarked, "Now we need to wait for Knuckles and Rouge."

"Sorry hon, but Knuckie won't be joining us." It was the voice of Rouge speaking, prompting the others to look up as she flew down and gracefully landed among the group.

Sally asked with concern in her voice, "What? Why will he not be joining us? I thought he'd want to be among friends."

"Sorry, princess. That echidna would rather be among his precious Master Emerald, guarding it as he says."

"I see," Sally said with disappointment. "That is unfortunate. I was hoping that all of you would attend."

"We can go get him." Vector volunteered.

Sally just shook her head, "No. As much as I would like that, I know that by now the many citizens are probably getting eager to see you. If he won't show…then the proceedings will go on without him. Come. Let us go."

The group turned and walked toward the castle, with Sally leading the way. Everyone had something to think about, with many questions and concerns abound.

_I wonder how many will be there._

_I hope I don't get hounded for autographs._

_They'd better not crowd my Sonic._

_I hope nothing goes wrong._

Everything seemed peaceful. But that thought at the back of Sonic's mind was to become a reality. For the entire kingdom was being watched by not so friendly eyes.

_Survey of the area is complete. Citizens are all flesh creatures that resemble Earth animals, but with more humanoid shapes; likely easy to dispose of. Defenses are primitive and not a significant threat to our forces. Military forces are few, signifying more of a security force than anything else_

* * *

High above the atmosphere of Mobius, a space ship floated in orbit. This ship bore a strong resemblance to an Earth space shuttle. The color scheme was of a purple and dark grey rather than the usual white, however. Despite the appearance however, the shuttle had no astronauts or pilots to speak of. They were not needed. It was listening to the recordings of its passenger's mechanical spies; its passenger being a microcassette player that is more than meets the eye.

A booming robotic voice then came from the shuttle itself, "Have your little pets finished their work yet, Soundwave? I need to return for refueling here soon."

A monotone synthesized robotic voice then answered the shuttle's question. "Analysis of this planet's potential is complete, Astrotrain." The entity identified as Soundwave then transformed into a giant robot. His body was rectangular in most places, including his rather large and bulky rectangular torso. His head had a red visor where eyes would have been, and any mouth he might have had was covered by a face plate. Soundwave then began speaking again, but this time to the spies on Mobius. "Buzzsaw, Ratbat, Laserbeak; rendezvous at designated location. We will collect you there. We must return this information to Megatron."


	2. Chapter 2: Discoveries

On Earth, a war wages between two factions of an alien race. Hailing from the planet Cybertron, these aliens are fully sentient humanoid robots that have come on a desperate quest for energy to revitalize their dying world. They were known as Cybertronians or Transformers, given that they had the unique ability to change their regular robot bodies into another shape, ranging from cars, to jets to cassette players. Ever since their war caused Cybertron to fall cold and dark, energy for both sides has become a struggle. And now that their search has them to Earth, the ongoing power struggle continues between the heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons. Lead by the great and noble Optimus Prime, The Autobots stand for peace, cooperation, justice, and protection. The Decepticons, led by the powerful and ruthless Megatron, seek power, destruction, and slavery. And now their war has breached the very fabric of space and time itself.

The Decepticons were draining an oil refinery of its supplies of oil far out in the ocean, converting it into a Cybertronian energy source known as energon, a highly concentrated and potent energy source. The Autobots, having caught wind of this, set out to stop them. Megatron, Starscream, Blitzwing, and Thundercracker initiated the plan, but soon found themselves under attack by the Autobot leader Optimus Prime, his right hand men Jazz and Ironhide, and three of the Aerialbots; Skydive, Slingshot, and Silverbolt. Now the two factions were at a standstill, shooting at each other until one side gave up. "Give it up, Megatron!" Optimus Prime shouted. "We Autobots will never submit to the likes of you, nor will we allow you to steal energy that doesn't belong to you."

"Never," Megatron bellowed back as he fired his massive fusion cannon attached to his right arm. "I lay claim to all that I see, Optimus Prime."

"Not if I have anything to say about it. Autobots! Hold your ground. Protect the humans!" The workers on the oil rig were currently hiding behind the Autobot's large bodies to protect themselves from the Decepticons, to which the Autobots were more than happy to assist them.

"You don't need to tell me twice, Optimus," Ironhide said as he unloaded laser bolt after laser bolt at the Decepticon forces.

"You're going down, Megatron!" Slingshot shouted boldly.

"We're outmatched!" Starscream wailed in a high pitched voice that sounded more like a shriek than anything else. Megatron, we must retreat!"

Megatron barely dodged a laser bolt as he ducked behind the tower he was using for cover. He turned his attention to Starscream. "Stop your whining and fight back, Starscream! We need this energy." Megatron continued to keep the Autobots at bay with his large cannon. Seemingly revitalized by Megatron's threatening insult, Starscream stood his ground. Starscream managed to lay down suppressing fire with both laser cannons on his upper arms, prompting the Autobots to take cover. Megatron hid again, turning and saying, "Thundercracker! Status!"

Thundercracker responded promptly as he set down a glowing pink cube-shaped object amongst a pile of similar looking cubes. "All of these energon cubes are full. The amount seems…adequate."

"Excellent," Megatron stated with victorious glee. "Decepticons! Save the energon cubes and retreat!" At his order, the other robots ran toward the energon cubes as laser bolts continued to fly by them. Starscream and Blitzwing scooped up a large portion of the cubes and transformed into their fighter jet forms; Starscream into an F-15 Eagle and Blitzwing into a Mig-25. Storing the energon inside their bodies, they took off, leaving just Megatron and Thundercracker. "Thundercracker, when we're clear of this place, hit the supports and send the Autobots to the depths!"

"Yes mighty leader," Thundercracker replied obediently as he picked up the last of the energon cubes, tucking them under his arm. Looking at Megatron, he opened his hand and extended it towards his leader. Instantly, Megatron began to shrink in size, condensing has parts until he fully transformed into a Walker P38 Pistol, which Thundercracker snatched into his outstretched hand. With their cargo secured, Thundercracker took to the air and took aim at the oil rig.

"Looks like the Decepticons are buggin out, Prime," Jazz remarked.

Slingshot added onto Jazz's observation with glee, "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I'm just too much for them. It even looks like Thundercracker is getting desperate. Does he really intend to stop all of us with just one gun?"

Skydive on the other hand, didn't share his comrade's bravado. "If Thundercracker was just going to shoot blind, then why hasn't he fired yet?"

"I've got the supports in my sights, Megatron," Thundercracker reported.

"Destroy them NOW!" Thundercracker did as he was commanded to by his leader, who was now his personal blaster at the moment. High powered energy blasts erupted from Megatron's gun barrel, all hitting different sections of the rig's supports. In seconds, the entire structure was crumbling into the sea. Thundercracker didn't stay to watch, taking the opportunity of chaos to retreat. Megatron slipped from Thundercracker's hand and transformed back into his robot form while Thundercracker took the shape of an F-15 Eagle that was identical Starscream, albeit a blue color instead of Starscream's color scheme of red and white. Megatron laughed maniacally as the now burning rig sank deeper and into the sea. "Reminds me of our first encounter with the Autobots here on Earth." Thundercracker didn't respond. He just silently followed Megatron back to their underwater base, where a great plan was being devised.

On the Transformer's home planet of Cybertron, which was now heavily controlled by Decepticon forces, Shockwave was awaiting the return of Astrotrain and Soundwave from their recon mission. Months ago, a huge energy spike caught Shockwave's attention as he continued the task he was given; to safeguard Cybertron while keeping the Autobot resistance under control. Now he had something else to occupy his time; a challenge. Ever the scientist, he saw this as a great opportunity to exploit a potential energy source that could give his leader Megatron the edge he needed to crush the Autobots once and for all.

Shockwave spent the better part of a year tracking the whereabouts of the energy spike, and was shocked to find no trace of it. Yet it was there nonetheless. Frustrated and not wanting to disturb Megatron with theories, he decided to try something else. By utilizing his great resourceful intellect, inventive prowess, and a dangerously large supply of Cybertron's depleting energon reserves, he created a device that could pierce the very fabric of reality itself. Upon activation, the source became all too clear. It turned out to be a massive burst of energy originating at the center of the galaxy, but not this galaxy. He concluded that this was an alternate dimension, and it was rich in energies that were ready to be plundered.

While the spike in energy had all but faded away to near uselessness at the original source, Shockwave managed to track strong energy movements that led to some sort of space body. His readings indicated that this galaxy was most likely identical to this one, and the space body in question was an alternate Earth. Upon sharing this information with Megatron, he was given the opportunity to investigate the source. And now he was just waiting for Astrotrain and Soundwave to return through the warp gate in orbit around Cybertron. Soon, he heard the beep of a communications console, signaling an incoming message. Turning it on, he heard the loud voice of Astrotrain. "Okay, Shockwave. We're back from that strange little world you found. Now if you don't mind, my fuel reserves are running on empty."

Shockwave acknowledged Astrotrain's request. "Return to Cybertron and get all the fuel you'll need. Have Soundwave stand by as well. I'll meet you at the docking port."

"Sure. I'm coming in for a landing."

Shockwave was the first one there, watching Astrotrain land on the metallic platform. His side door opened and Soundwave stepped out. Reverting back to his robot form, Astrotrain motioned to Shockwave. "So? The fuel?"

Without saying a word, Shockwave pointed his left hand, which was replaced with a blaster weapon from a battle never spoken of, toward a stash of energon. The exhausted shuttle robot nodded and left the group to refuel. Meanwhile, Shockwave turned his attention to Soundwave. "Report."

"Planet Mobius is appears to be a primitive world populated by small anthropomorphic woodland creatures. Technology is for the most part, primitive by our standards. Mobius…seems suitable for Decepticon conquest."

"Excellent. Well follow me, Soundwave. Show Megatron and myself what you have found in more detail." Shockwave led the way toward the control tower that served as Shockwave's base of operations and laboratory on Cybertron.

Once inside, Soundwave approached the console and transformed into a cassette player, shrinking down to size and placing himself on top of the console. Shockwave on the other hand, activated the communication that connected Cybertron to the Decepticon base on Earth. "Shockwave contacting Megatron. Come in, Megatron." Shockwave waited patiently until the face of Megatron appeared on the screen. Shockwave looked up at his leader with his single robotic eye, ready to share what he and had discovered. "Lord Megatron, my observation operation is complete. Soundwave is ready to show us his findings."

The smile that spread across Megatron's face was a smile of malicious planning with the anticipation of victory. "Excellent. Soundwave, transmit the data."

"As you command, Megatron," Soundwave obeyed. A hidden cord snaked its way out of the Decepticon cassette player's side and connected to the console. On the screen, Shockwave and Megatron both observed what Soundwave's small cassette robots found. The first thing they saw was the image of an airborne bat carrying a purple jewel in her hands; the bat in question being Rouge the Bat. At first, Megatron and Shockwave were wondering what the exact relevance of this recording was, but were soon removed from their thoughts as Soundwave reported, "The jewel in question that the life form is holding onto is quite significant. According to scans made by Ratbat, the jewel is a powerful source of raw energy. Full capabilities of the jewel are yet unknown. Furthermore, upon continued observation…" Soundwave paused as the image switched to an image of Rouge standing around the X-Tornado with the other animals as the image turned a blurry green, with two white hot spots appearing on screen; one on Rouge and the other in the X-Tornado. "The energy readings within the jet are identical to the jewel in the bat's possession."

"So you think there are more of these power gems," Shockwave remarked, more as an observation than a direct question to Soundwave.

"Unable to determine exact amount, but affirmative," Soundwave confirmed.

"Excellent work, you two," Megatron complimented. I knew you wouldn't waste my time, Shockwave."

Soundwave intervened, as his report was not yet complete. "There's more, Megatron. Buzzsaw made an observation on a blue hedgehog and a yellow fox. He believes they could present a possible problem. Observe." The video played showing the conversation being held between Sonic and Tails while they were still in Tails's house. The whole time they were watching, Megatron disregarded them as worthless flesh creatures. In Megatron's eyes, all flesh life was inferior to him, and therefore not even worth the trouble. All of his altercations with the human race back on Earth ended in his favor most of the time. Not one human was able to overpower him or his army, so what difference would two much smaller creatures make?

Shockwave however, saw things differently. While he too saw Cybertronians as the superior life forms, he didn't completely disregard them. Even though all of his logic circuits dictated that their small, weak forms were no match for the might of the much larger and more powerful Decepticons, Shockwave wasn't about to take this at face value. Taking in all that they said and documenting it, he prompted Soundwave to continue. "There is one more thing, Megatron," Soundwave stated. "The supposedly most powerful and influential seat of power on the planet will make a suitable place for first conquest."

Megatron was curious why Soundwave would suggest such a strategy. Usually, Soundwave preferred more subtle approaches. "What makes you think so, Soundwave?"

"The main governmental structure has sufficient materials that could provide for a central command center. Close scans also reveal technology that can be salvaged and repurposed for our needs."

In his common raspy voice, Megatron let out a menacing chuckle as the possibilities began flowing through his cognitive circuits. "Well done, Soundwave. Return to headquarters here on Earth. We have an invasion to prepare for."

"Yes, Megatron." Soundwave disconnected from the console and returned to his robot form. Turning to Shockwave, he obediently waited for the higher ranked Shockwave to dismiss him.

"You did well, Soundwave. Truly you are a testament to our cause. I'll keep Astrotrain here for when our forces will inevitably travel through the warp gate. Now go." With that, Soundwave entered the large encapsulated area in the center of the room, ready to return. Reaching for a switch, Shockwave announced, "Preparing to send Soundwave back, Megatron. Just signal me when you are ready to return." Shockwave flipped the switch, causing the doors to shut, thus sending Soundwave back to Earth.


	3. Chapter 3: A Devious Plot

At the underwater Decepticon base on Earth, a plan was brewing. Since Soundwave had arrived, Megatron decided it was time to get right to work planning his next move in the eventual conquest of Mobius. All of his main Decepticon warriors were present in the large open command room where Megatron often spoke his plans to defeat the Autobots and suck Earth's energy resources for his own evil purposes. Those present included his power-hungry and often traitorous air commander Starscream, along with the other robots with similar jet forms, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Dirge, Ramjet, and Thrust; his loyal Communications Officer, Soundwave; the triple changer Blitzwing, with the capability to transform into two other forms instead of the usual one like most Cybertronians; the Insecticons, who were Decepticons who adopted insectoid shapes and a taste for Earth energy sources; the maliciously creative Constructions, masterful demolishers and builders; the militaristic Combaticons, warriors first built by Starscream to overthrow Megatron and then repurposed to serve him instead; and the wild Stunticons, cars that were rebuilt as Cybertronians to give the Decepticons a deadly presence on the road.

Starscream was the first to speak up and in a rather distasteful manner. "What's so important about this far off planet anyway, Megatron? There's more than enough energy on this planet for us to plunder."

"You are a fool, Starscream," Megatron insulted, like he usually did when Starscream would speak up against him. "This is more than just a simple energy raid. This is about securing our dominance over the Autobots forever. A faction of us will take care of things on Earth, albeit on a smaller scale. Meanwhile the other larger force will take the planet Mobius, securing it for energy extraction and transport directly to Cybertron."

"Why not have all of us go there?" Starscream questioned again. "It would make our conquest all the faster."

"Again you fail to see the big picture, you dim-witted dolt. If we all go, the Autobots will surely follow us and continue to get in our way. We must be sure to keep them occupied so as to not draw their attention to Mobius."

"So who gets the pleasure of ransacking this new world, noble leader?"

"That's what we're here to decide, Scrapper," Megatron answered the Constructicon leader's question. "Way I see it though; there will be more of us on Mobius than Earth for a good long while. Plus, according to the data sent to us by Soundwave, time in that dimension is approximately 4 times faster, using Earth months as a base."

"So for every Earth month cycle that passes by here, four would have passed there," commented the yellow Stunticon, Drag Strip. "Sounds like a fast place…a fun place…My kind of place."

Megatron admired Drag Strip's enthusiasm, although he was fairly sure it was just because Drag Strip just wanted to operate outside of Megatron's reach, free from his rule. "No, Drag Strip. Not today. I need you Stunticons to stay behind and fend off the Autobots."

The leader of the Stunticons, a bulky purple robot named Motormaster, stepped up and boldly declared, "Good, just the way I want it! We shall crush those Autobots into dust, Megatron!"

"Aw come on!" Drag Strip protested. "We can be sure that place is baring the Decepticon logo faster than you can say 'Drag Strip'."

All of a sudden, Drag Strip felt a hard punch to the back of his head, the sound of metal clanking throughout the room. He looked up to see Motormaster next to him with a clenched fist. "You may question our leader Megatron. But you DO NOT question me! If I say we stay, Drag Strip, then we stay!"

While Drag Strip hated his leader for his unfair treatment of him and the other Stunticons, his size and power made him the obvious leader of this team, and Drag Strip was not willing to anger both Megatron and Motormaster.

"What does it matter?" Dead End asked. "We'll all end up the same anyway. So what does the location matter?"

Megatron jumped in after a few tense seconds. "That's enough, Stunticons! Dead End, we don't need you stating the inevitable, or I'll make your end come sooner than you might want! There will be plenty of fighting here on Earth, I assure you. Besides, I've already made my decision. Now then, Scrapper."

"Yes, noble leader." Scrapper acknowledged with a loyal salute.

"You and your Constructicons will be among those going. If a foothold is to be established, we will need to a base of operations to be constructed. You will see to it that such a base is constructed quickly. Understood?"

"Yes, Megatron. The Constructicons are ready to serve." Ever the appeaser and Decepticon loyalist, Scrapper was more than happy to obey Megatron's wishes. His group of robots was among the best and fastest Cybertronian builders around. It was only natural that he would pick them.

"And you as well, Onslaught. You and the Combaticons will go too…and do what you do best. Crush any resistance that would stand in your way."

"Oh please," Blast Off commented condescendingly. "Clearly our skills will be wasted on such a menial task as this."

Brawl, the more aggressive member of the Combaticon team, didn't take well to his comrade's remark. "Are you saying we're not good enough to stomp on these pitiful creatures!? My trigger finger is getting quite itchy! Perhaps you're just afraid, Blast Off!"

"Afraid? Me? Please spare me your dull lectures, you thick headed brute."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Brawl clenched his fist and raised it, ready to slug his pompous teammate so hard that Blast Off just might have be thrown straight to Cybertron. But then his leader, Onslaught grabbed his arm firmly.

"That's enough, Brawl. We Decepticons should not be fighting amongst ourselves, less we find ourselves vulnerable to an Autobot attack. And you Blast Off, when did the Combaticons start questioning our superiors? Now fall in line. THAT is an order." Brawl reluctantly lowered his fist, letting out an angry sigh. Blast Off just folded his arms and turned away from his colleagues. Both Brawl and Blast Off had enough respect for Onslaught to obey him, even if his matter-of-fact attitude and mindset seemed too passive to Brawl and too impractical to Blast Off.

Megatron was getting irritated by the infighting amongst his soldiers as well. "The next one to question my commands OR start another conflict will find themselves in the scrap pile! Now shut up so the rest of my plan can be laid out."

Soundwave was the next to speak up. "Who will be in charge, Megatron?"

"Actually," Megatron paused to let the thought linger within the minds of his Decepticons. If Megatron liked one thing more than conquest, it was putting people in uneasy suspense. He then pointed to probably the last Decepticon that anyone, even the recipient would expect. "Starscream will be in command."

A wave of silence washed over the entire group as they took in this shocking news. Starscream; one of the few Decepticons that had the courage or stupidity to betray Megatron on many occasions, often making attempts on his life. This was the same Decepticon noteworthy for his arrogance, selfish desires, and cowardice. And now Megatron was putting them under his command.

Thundercracker felt compelled to speak up. "Sir, forgive me, but that course of action doesn't seem-."

He was cut off by Megatron, who growled and ferociously stated, "Don't…finish that statement if you value your existence, Thundercracker." Remembering his place, Thundercracker nodded apologetically and stepped back.

Starscream was even surprised. He had led before, but he was never put in charge of an operation as big as this. Starscream, ever the schemer, felt that something was amiss. _Why does Megatron put me in charge? What's his play?_ Starscream had to struggle to find his words, but finally summoned the strength to speak. "Megatron? This is…unexpected coming from you."

"I'm sorry," Megatron taunted sarcastically. "I thought you would be ecstatic to be put into such a high position, Starscream."

"O-Of course, Megatron. With me commanding such a force, victory is assured."

"That's more like it." Megatron's compliment was dry and without any form of legitimacy attached to it.

"But if I'm leading, then I'm taking Thundercracker and Skywarp too."

"I thought you might, Starscream. Skywarp, Thundercracker. Do you have any objections?"

Catching the tone in Megatron's voice, both robots knew that refusing the order would not be a good idea. In unison, they both said, "No, Megatron." Skywarp was less apprehensive about it, as he found his niche within the Decepticons as a loyal follower to both Megatron and his superior, Starscream. Thundercracker on the other hand, didn't like it one bit. While he did follow Starscream's orders, he did so only because of Starscream's superior rank. In truth, Thundercracker didn't like Starscream one bit, and now he was being put under his direct command.

"Good," Megatron said, pleased with their answer. "Then if there's nothing else?"

"Wait a moment, Megatron," Starscream interrupted again, "Before you get all excited about this, have you considered that the Autobots will suspect something is afoot once they realize that a large part of your force is gone?"

Now Megatron was getting annoyed with his second-in-command's hasty and ignorant questions. "Don't take me for a fool, Starscream. Of course I have! We'll just use scapegoats; copies if you will."

"Copies!?" Starscream was appalled at the idea of being replaced with a soulless and empty shell that looked just like him. "You would dare make a copy of me? ME; Starscream? I won't allow it!"

Megatron's annoyance soon turned to amusement. "You don't have a choice. It's already been done." Megatron turned his attention to Shrapnel, one of the Insecticons. "Shrapnel, bring them in."

"Yes, mighty Megatron, Megatron." Many of the Decepticons found Shrapnel's speech impediment amusing, as he would repeat the last word in his sentences. However, they were also careful not to say it to his face. Despite Shrapnel's small stature, even by Cybertronian standards, he was more dangerous and powerful than he appeared. The door leading out of the room opened as Shrapnel gestured toward it. When the robots in question stepped through, it was like looking into a mirror for most of the Decepticons.

"Hey, that's us." Thundercracker commented. Indeed it was. The robots were indeed almost identical copies of the original Decepticons that had been chosen to invade Mobius. However, there was something different as well. They stood up straight, almost completely and creepily in a mindless state. Their faces also bore no emotion at all, nor did they speak a word.

"Not fully, fully," Shrapnel explained. "With our help, Megatron can now effectively mimic our cloning beams, beams."

"Right you are, Shrapnel," Megatron added on. "We also combined our old cloning machine that was used to make that fake Optimus Prime. These machines, however, are not free thinking. They are programmed to respond to their proper designation and do whatever I say." Taking the opportunity to amuse himself and put his air commander down, Megatron issued his first command. "For example: Starscream, hop on one foot."

"What kind of an order is that? I refuse to stoop to that level of…" He was cut off by the sound of metal hitting the floor at a steady rate. When looking at his clone, he realized that he was indeed hopping on one foot, or at least his copy was, just as Megatron ordered. Starscream could barely believe it. "This is disgraceful!" Most of the other Decepticons were having a good laugh over the situation. By extension of the clone, Megatron had humiliated him in front of the other Decepticons. "Stop. Your. Laughing!" Angry with Megatron, Starscream shot his null-ray weapon straight up into the air in a violent tantrum. This got the others' attention, to which they all stopped laughing and stared at him, including Megatron. "You will PAY for this, Megatron!"

Leveling his weapon, Starscream shot the clone square in the chest, causing it to tumble backward and fall down. His null-ray took effect, disabling the electronics within the machine. The clone took more than a few struggling seconds to right itself, but once it did, Starscream could not have been less prepared for its next move. Of its own will, the clone returned fire, blasting Starscream in the shoulder. The air commander clutched his shoulder as smoke trailed from his the wound. The clone kept firing as Starscream ducked behind the table to avoid the less effective, but still dangerous laser weapon. "Stop!" Megatron's command was heard, and the firing ceased. Starscream slowly and cautiously stood back up, his circuits trembling with shock at the event. "They have also been programmed to retaliate on any aggressors. It was necessary to make up for their primitive robotic brains. Other than that, they are completely docile…and obedient servants."

"So what price was paid, Megatron? These freelancing Insecticons don't do anything for us, let alone share their secrets, unless they get something in return. What was their price?"

Kickback was quick to answer. "The price, Starscream, was the opportunity to travel to this rich world and feed on its no doubt rich sources of energy."

"Is that all?" Starscream was suspicious of the trio. Their loyalty to the Decepticons only came to the forefront when they got something in return. This seemed a little too convenient. "And what guarantee do I have that you will obey me?"

"You have none!" the beetle Bombshell exclaimed. "But we can assure you that our efforts will further your cause."

"The Insecticons will join you as well, Starscream. That's the end of it."

"Yes, mighty Megatron," Starscream replied snidely. "Whatever you say."

"Now if there are no further questions, which there had better not be…Decepticons? Move out!" On cue, the Decepticons selected for the invasion force quickly left the room, leaving the others behind. The Stunticons moved away from the gathering area, probably to get away from their overbearing leader. Before Soundwave could leave though, Megatron pulled him aside. "Soundwave. I want you to go with them."

Soundwave was unsure of what to make of this order. While he would never disobey Megatron, he also felt like the invasion force was already large enough. Megatron was cutting his forces here on Earth dangerously low. Surely Megatron would need his help here. After a moment of silence, he summoned the courage to ask, "For what purpose, Megatron?"

"I need you to keep an eye on Starscream. I may have put him in charge, but I know he will try to further his own agenda as well. Assist him as you would assist me. Follow his orders, but make sure the mission succeeds. And above all else, make sure that Starscream's own goals do not conflict with mine or compromise my place as Decepticon leader."

Now Soundwave understood. Starscream was not to be trusted, so Megatron was sending someone he could trust implicitly to get the job done. "As you command, Megatron."


	4. Chapter 4: Party Crashers

While the evil Decepticons made their final preparations for their malevolent pilgrimage to Mobius, Sonic and his friends were busy celebrating. Within the great hall of Princess Sally's castle, the heroes of the Metarex War were surrounded by all of their adoring fans. The formal introductions were over with, much to Sonic's relief. More than once, he felt like running out of there as the "important people of the Acorn Kingdom", as Sonic called them, gave speech after speech about their heroics, bravery, and determination.

Now things were moving along. Sonic's team now found themselves mingling with the many guests now within the castle. All sorts of miniature events were happening all at once just within this great hall, as it seemed just as big as a town square. Princess Sally watched the festivities from her throne as her subjects and their heroic guests celebrated. Cream and Amy, and Charmy were helping themselves to the numerous food items lined along the grand dining table. Small children were huddling around Vector as he was telling stories of their adventures with Espio silently watching. Rouge was taking pictures with her adoring public, no doubt charging a fee for them as well. Finally, Sonic was in the center of the room, entertaining his fans with a combination of autographs and showy stunts of acrobatics. Tails quietly watched, not wanting to draw attention to himself. It was a scene that Sally had seen many times in her halls; maybe not with such famous individuals, but many social gatherings nonetheless. It was a joyous occasion indeed. Yet, seeing this brought back memories, making Sally feel inexplicably sad. She didn't show it in her face or body language, but underneath her pleasant demeanor, it could not be denied. Something was bothering her.

The kid's eyes were glowing as Vector told his story. "So there we were, stranded on a desolate planet, making ends meet so that we could come home. Before we knew it, the entire planet was surrounded by the monsters' massive battle fleet. With no escape and the ones they were hunting under our protection, we had to think of a new plan…a bold plan." This earned more than a few excited gasps from the children. While Espio thought Vector's overly dramatic method of storytelling was unnecessary, he could not deny that the children loved it.

"You protected Sonic from them? Weren't you scared?"

"Scared? Of course we weren't. If anything, it was exciting. Stranded, trapped, hiding from the enemy; all of these factors added to the challenge."

"How did you escape?"

"We got off later. The real story is how we helped Sonic escape their clutches." This caused the children to lean in closer, eager to hear him continue.

As Vector went on, Cream, Amy, and Charmy, each one holding a plate of food, were standing around and reminiscing about the past events.

"Even after all this time after returning, it still feels good to be home, doesn't it?" Amy asked indiscriminately.

"Choo, Choo." Cheese squeaked happily. As a Chao, the creature couldn't speak English, but could still understand what was being said to him.

Cream however, could understand what her small friend was saying, and replied, "I agree, Cheese. Space was fun, but being back home feels great."

"I bet your mom's very happy that your back," Charmy commented to Cheese.

"She is, Charmy. She enjoys hearing my story about my time with you guys."

"So she wasn't worried about you?"

"She said she was, but she also believed in me, Amy. She knew that whatever we were doing must have been important."

Amy thought about all those hard battles they fought against the ruthless Metarex and how tough they were. "It sure wasn't easy, that's for sure. But it was worth it."

"Yeah," Charmy agreed. "Those Metarex were nothing but big bullies."

The two girls chuckled at Charmy's statement, amuse by his simple interpretation. All of a sudden, an unknown voice broke through the crowd. "Speech, Sonic!" The three looked in the direction of the voice and saw a number of citizens half walking, half pushing Sonic toward the steps that led to Sally's throne. Soon, through a roar of cheers and applause, Sonic stepped up and looked out on the crowd, grinning confidently. The great hall got quiet as everyone stared up at the blue hedgehog. Sonic faltered at first, as he had not prepared a speech, nor did he intend to give one. However, not one to disappoint his fans, Sonic stood strong.

Clearing his throat, Sonic began speaking calmly, but loudly enough for everyone to hear. "I uh…umm, didn't prepare anything to say, but I'll do my best." He paused as he prepared his thoughts, hearing a few murmurs from the crowd. He gave a nervous look to Sally, who only smiled and gave him an encouraging wink. Sonic turned around, his confidence boosted. "So, where to begin…This all started when an alien robot came to this world, attacked us and stole the very source of life of our planet Mobius. We were powerless to stop it. We were defeated by an enemy we knew nothing about, whose power was unquestionable. But we didn't give up. How could we? If something wasn't done, this world would have been a dead rock, unable to support any life. Not to mention…not doing anything would have been extremely boring." The crowd chuckled a little at Sonic's attempt at a joking comment. Pleased with the reaction, Sonic continued, letting his speech grow in intensity and confidence as he went on. "So we chased them into the depths of space, fought them at every turn, thwarting their evil plans. We chased them until they were cornered at the very center of the galaxy. They threw everything they had at us, even having all seven Chaos Emeralds. They tried their best to stop us. But their best was not good enough. We beat them! We saved the Planet Eggs, we retrieved the Chaos Emeralds, and we saved Mobius!"

The sound coming from the crowd was like music to Sonic's ears. They erupted in applause, shouting his name in admiration. He took it all in, feeding his ego. However, it was not in a completely selfish way. Sonic did enjoy the attention, but what also made him happy was to see the people around him smile and cheer. If they were happy, then Sonic was happy. The cheering soon quieted down, and Sonic felt compelled to say something else. "I hear you all praising me for my heroics. However, I did not do it alone. I was in the company of shipmates…comrades…friends. I would be honored if the rest of my team would join me up here. This is as much their honor as it is mine."

The crowd began cheering and looking around, identifying the Mobians that Sonic was referring to, urging them forward. Soon, the entirety of Sonic's team was up front and in full view of the public. Sonic called out their names one by one, pausing in between as the audience applauded each of them. "Give it up for; Amy Rose…Cream the Rabbit…Rouge the Bat…Vector the Crocodile…Espio the Chameleon… Charmy Bee…and my best bud, Tails…I uh, would also like us to recognize Knuckles the Echidna, who was unable to join us today…And…I would like to pay respects to two of our comrades who did not make it: Shadow the Hedgehog, a black hedgehog with a rough and tough attitude. He wasn't the nicest guy, but always did what he believed was right, even if what he thought had to be done was unpleasant. In the end though, he gave his life to save us from a giant explosion, and…" Sonic paused and looked at Tails. His opinion on the last member mattered to Sonic, as Tails and the girl in question became quite close. Tails's face was one of sadness and loss. However, through watery eyes, Tails smiled sadly and nodded to Sonic. Sonic took it as permission to continue. "And Cosmo the Seedrian, an alien plant girl who crashed here while running from the Metarex. She stuck with us all the way, and at the last moment, sacrificed herself to allow Shadow and I the chance to destroy the Metarex menace for good. May they both find peace wherever they are…But that's enough moping. This is a day of celebration, isn't it? We will honor their memories by always enjoying life to the fullest. Now then, let's…whoa!"

Sonic was broken up by the sudden shaking of the ground beneath him. It was so sudden that most of the citizens fell to their knees from the strong shakes. "Sonic, what's happening?" A worried Amy asked.

Sally then jumped from her seat and started barking orders. "Okay everyone, just stay calm and follow my guards to the nearest exit, please. Everything will be okay. Guards! Get everyone out of here safely. I don't want this earthquake to hurt anyone under my roof." Per her orders, security guards rushed from their posts and began funneling citizens toward the various side doors, out of the main hall. The Chaotix also jumped into action, helping with the evacuation. Espio and Charmy helped the guards while Vector stayed and helped coordinate the lost and confused guests. In no time at all, the hall was empty except for Sally and the heroes. She was treating this like any emergency. Inside her mind however, this sudden quake made Sally very uneasy. It felt almost unnatural. She wasn't the only one either. Sonic also didn't like this. It made the quills on his head stand on edge. Something was wrong, very wrong.

Seconds later, a rupture began to appear in the center of the room. Floor stone and dirt began to fall into the hole. From the hole arose a massive machine that crawled on tank treads and had three powerful drills in the front; drills that were made for digging. There was one big drill that made up the nose of the vehicle, with two smaller drills on the sides, protruding from extra extensions of the tank's chassis. Its red armor was still dirty from its underground journey. On top of this drilling tank was a closed off dome. A voice was soon heard coming from it. "It's been too long, Sonic!" It was the voice of a madman, who had a familiarity with Sonic. The voice was also all too familiar to Sonic and his friends.

"Doctor Eggman?" Sonic asked, although he already knew the answer.

As if to confirm, the metal dome slid open, revealing a glass domed cockpit. Inside was an obese human with a long, thick mustache and a bald head. He wore a tightly fitted black suit, with his upper torso sporting a red jacket with yellow buttons. His eyes were completely covered by a pair of blue glasses, but his face was easy to read. This Doctor Eggman was smiling with malicious intent. "It's so good to see you again, Sonic."

"What are you doing here, Robotnik?!" Sally demanded fiercely.

"Ah, your highness, forgive the intrusion. I just couldn't help but notice that among all the guests invited to this joyous occasion, my name was not among them…EVEN THOUGH I WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE METAREX'S DEMISE!" Slowing down from his outburst, Eggman cleared his throat and continued. "So I decided that it was best if I just, oh how shall we say it? Let myself in."

"You weren't invited, Robotnik," Sally shouted. "Nobody wants to see you around here. You enslaved so many innocent lives and tried to conquer us, after all."

"Aww, but that was in the past, princess. Surely we can learn to forgive and forget." Eggman was enjoying every moment of this, taunting those he sought to conquer on his quest to rule a global empire.

Sonic was getting tired of his old enemy's meaningless rambling. "Come on, doctor. Cut to the chase and tell us why you're here."

"Like I said, just to be a part of the glorious festivities in this oh so lovely castle…and then conquer it in the name of the Eggman Empire. GAAAHAHAHAAAA!" Eggman's manically evil laugh echoed throughout the great hall. Without another word, Eggman dramatically slammed a button inside his machine and the tank began to change shape. The tank treads slid to the back, and the back half of the vehicle split into two legs. The vehicle became more and more vertical in a matter of seconds until it stood on two strong legs. The extra drill protrusions unhinged, becoming two functional arms with the drills taking the place of hands. The giant drill that was the nose moved until it was sticking out menacingly from the chest. Finally, Eggman's cockpit dome moved to the very top of the machine. He looked down at the heroes with an evil grin, feeling that this was the day he would defeat Sonic the Hedgehog for good.

Sonic stared at the evil doctor's newest creation and smirked, "Nice toy, Eggman. Let's see how easily it breaks."

"You've got it all wrong, hedgehog. This thing is going to break you!" The machine raised its large arm and brought down on Sonic. In the blink of an eye, Sonic dashed to the right using his impressive speed. The robot's drill slammed hard into the floor, but Sonic was unscathed. He glanced over at the others, getting a fix on their positions. Tails stood strong right next to him, facing the machine with the same bravado as Sonic. Cream was huddled up near the wall and scared out of her mind, wrapping her arms around Amy for support. Amy held her hammer in one hand while comforting Cream, ready for if the robot decided to attack them. He couldn't see Rouge anywhere, although that didn't surprise him. Rouge often made herself scarce when things got heated.

"Nice moves, Sonic. But your speed can only get you so far." Eggman cackled as the arm that just struck lifted up.

"Alright! This could be fun!" Sonic found that old spark of excitement rise up in him. He looked at Tails and smiled confidently. "You ready for this, champ?"

Tails nodded and replied in an equally confident tone. "You bet, Sonic!"

Eggman moved in again. His large robot walked heavily on its two large legs, shaking the room with each step. "Take this!" Two panels on the robot's shoulders opened up, revealing a salvo of missiles. "Fire Rockets!" With those words, Eggman flipped a switch and the entire store of missiles fired, spreading out in an attempt to trap Sonic and Tails. Tails took to the air, using his two tails like a helicopter propeller, ducking and weaving around the rockets that flew around him. Sonic rolled and dashed on the ground, staying just ahead of tall the missiles that struck the ground with ear-shattering explosions. Now Sonic took the opportunity to run to the robot's backside.

"My turn, Eggman." Sonic tucked into a ball and revved up his spin dash technique. Eggman's machine was not fast enough to turn around before Sonic took off at blinding speed, his spin attack now so fast that he could rip through solid steel. Sonic hit the machine with incredible force, and was shocked. His attack did nothing. He bounced harmlessly off of the robot's metal leg. He wasn't hurt by the hit, but then again, neither was the robot. "Hmm, I see you've upgraded."

Eggman cackled loudly at Sonic. Catching his breath, he bragged, "It's too powerful for you to handle! You will fall before the mighty Egg Driller!"

"Could he have come up with a more cliché name?" Tails asked rhetorically.

"Maybe he can't, but let me try!" Amy's voice came from the robot's left as she charged in with her Piko Piko Hammer at the ready. Bringing it up for a heavy hit, Amy swung her large mallet-like hammer against the robot's other leg. As Eggman suspected, the robot stood strong and didn't even budge.

"Give me a break, Mr. Rose. If Sonic can't, you sure can't," Eggman taunted. The Egg Driller pointed the left drill at Amy. Frozen in fear, Amy just stared up, bracing for the inevitable. A rocket booster fired from the drill's base, causing Amy to shut her eyes on reflex. The drill only found air though as Sonic dashed in, grabbed Amy, and took her away from the battle. Setting her down gently, Amy opened her eyes and could not restrain the urge to throw her arms around Sonic in an affectionate hug.

"Oh, Sonic, thank you!" Amy exclaimed through shaky breaths.

"Uh, Amy? Now's not the time." Sonic said, trying to get her to let go.

Meanwhile, Tails was hovering around the robot, flying around it, doing little more than drawing its attention. He tried a few of his own punches and kicks on the upper hull, but lacking any significant strength like his other friends, could not even damage it. He even tried attacking the glass dome leading into Eggman's cockpit, but only got sneers and laughs from the doctor as he realized the glass was too strong for him to break. The robot had already since retracted its drill weapon by some unseen means and both drill arms were swinging trying to hit Tails out of the sky. "Sonic!" Tails shouted. Sonic, having escaped a scared Amy's grasp, was already at his best friend's side, hitting the robot with a barrage of spin attacks. He was still barely scratching it.

Eggman aimed another drill at Sonic and fired. His effort only managed to hit the opposite wall dangerously close to where Cream was, with Amy holding her in an attempt to comfort the crying rabbit. Sonic glared at the robot that he could not even scratch. Eggman returned the drill to its starting place without the use of wires or anything noticeable. Tails thought to himself; _it must be using some kind of magnetism to draw the drills back into their launch positions._ "Sonic," Tails called down. "How are we supposed to beat this thing? And…wait a minute…Where's the princess?" Tails was not actively looking, but it suddenly dawned on him that Princess Sally was not in the vicinity.

Sonic glanced around and didn't see her either. He decided that he would find her later. The first priority was taking the Egg Driller down. Sonic kept asking himself the same question, which was; _how can I bring this thing down?_ Going back to all he had seen this thing do, he realized that the robot's hull was virtually impregnable. _Why did I have to leave my Chaos Emerald in my secret hiding spot?_ Sonic scolded himself for leaving the powerful jewel behind, when he thought he should have been holding onto it at all times. _If only I had a power ring. Then I might be strong enough to break it._ Sonic sighed as he dodged more attacks from the Egg Driller as he continued to think to himself. _Looks like I'll have to find another way._ "I don't know, Tails. But we'll find a way to take this oversized trash can down."

Sonic kept thinking about what he might have missed about the robot. The armor was too tough to attack from the outside. _From the outside._ An idea suddenly clicked into Sonic's head. Smiling with renewed confidence, Sonic had a plan to destroy the machine. All he wanted was for Eggman to launch his drill weapon again. Running in circles around it, Sonic shouted in an attempt to get Eggman's attention. "Hey Egghead! Your new machine may be strong, but how fast is it?" Eggman looked around as all he could make out was a blue blur encircling his Egg Driller.

Getting frustrated, Eggman yelled angrily, "Stop your running, hedgehog!"

As if obeying, Sonic stopped a good distance away in front of the robot, smirking at Eggman mockingly. "Heh. Come and get me, Eggman."

"Why you little," Eggman growled. "Looks like I have to teach you a lesson!" Both of the Egg Driller's arms lifted and fired their armaments at Sonic. Sonic just stood there as the drills approached. This was the moment he was waiting for. Sonic ducked under the drills as they harmlessly flew over his head, sticking into the ground. He knew that Eggman would recall them soon, so he had to act fast. Sonic ran as fast as he could straight for the left open arm holes where the drills were fired from and leapt inside. Everyone else, including Eggman, gasped in surprise at this unexpected move. For what felt like an eternity, there was only silence.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of metal being torn apart, wires being snapped, and gears coming undone. The Egg Driller began to glitch and malfunction, moving erratically and completely out of control. Sparks could be seen spewing from its body. Eggman was frantically working the controls, trying to bring his creation back under control. But no matter how many buttons he pushed, how many levers he pulled, or how many switches he flipped, the machine continued to spark and spaz uncontrollably "No! No, no, no, NOOOO!" Eggman was in a fit of panic and rage at his creation acting up as Sonic was wrecking the internal components.

Sonic finally leaped from the opposite launcher, sliding on his feet and posing, showing off his accomplishment. He looked up at Eggman and smiled, "Nice try, Eggman. But it looks like your robot just couldn't keep up with me, the fastest thing alive."

"Grrrrrr," Eggman was furious because Sonic was right. His machine was on the verge of destruction as an alarm blared inside his cockpit. Eggman then separated the cockpit from the rest of the machine, which took the shape of his trademark hovercraft. The Egg Driller collapsed to the ground and exploded in a spectacular show of fireworks. Amy, Cream, and Tails rejoined Sonic as they all looked at the burning wreckage. Soon, their attention shifted to the air as the figure of Eggman's hovercraft loomed over them. "You haven't seen the last of me, I'll be back!" The hovercraft flew higher and headed straight for a wall. Using the laser cannons he had built into the vehicle, Eggman blew a hole large enough for it to fit through. The heroes watched as the once again defeated Doctor Eggman retreated back to who knows where.

"That was great, Sonic," Amy complimented. "You're such a hero."

"Heh. Beating Eggman's bloated butt never gets old," Sonic boasted proudly. "So, where are the others?"

Coming from the main door, Sonic heard Vector's voice, "Is it over? Did we miss anything?" Turning to look, Sonic and the others saw Vector standing there with Espio and Charmy standing next to him.

Sonic responded promptly, "The only thing you missed was me kicking Eggman into next week."

Looking around, Vector asked the same question that Tails asked earlier. "So uh…where's the princess?"

"Right here." The voice came from above. Looking up, they could see two figures hiding up in a chandelier near the ceiling. The light from it prevented a clear look at the figures, but they all recognized the voice as Rouge's. Rouge flew down to the ground with Sally in her arms, setting her down gently before landing herself. "She's safe, as you can see."

"What were you doing up there?" Vector asked, confused.

"I couldn't get the princess by Eggman without him spotting both of us. So when he engaged Sonic in battle, I took the opportunity to grab her royal highness and take her up to the ceiling; somewhere Eggman wouldn't think to look first.

"That was some decisive action I saw from you…all of you. Thank you so much for saving my citizens from that evil man."

"Hey, what are heroes for?" Sonic asked jokingly.

"I suppose you are right, Sonic. Now I'm sorry for being rude, but I must be off. I need to confer with NICOLE, this castle's super computer, and see about getting this place repaired. As for you, well…I think now you'll have something else to entertain your fans with when you go back outside." Sally exited the great hall through one of the many doors off to the side, leaving Sonic, Tails, Amy, Cream, Rouge, and the Chaotix standing in the middle of the room.

"Very business-like, isn't she." Amy commented.

"Any good ruler should be in order to properly serve their people," Sonic replied.

Tails's mind went somewhere else. "A super computer? Here, in this castle? Oh, what I wouldn't give to have a look at that."

Sonic chuckled and patted Tails's head playfully, "Maybe next time buddy. Maybe next time." Sonic began to walk toward the main doors leading outside, with the others following behind him.

Barely holding together, Eggman's vehicle hovered low above the waves of an ocean, hiccupping and sputtering from the damage it received. The doctor felt anger bubbling up inside him. He was angry that his latest scheme to defeat his nemesis failed again. Now he was where he usually was when he and Sonic fought; limping back to his base to regroup and plan again. "I HATE that hedgehog! He is ALWAYS ruining my plans, not to mention my beautiful creations! Well…no matter. I've been in worse spots. At least I still have a base of operations to fall back to. I just hope those three robotic bozos, Decoe, Bocoe, and Bokkun, haven't made a mess of things in my absence.

Soon, the shape of a tall structure loomed in the distance, far out in the middle of the sea. The structure in question was a tower that stretched high up into the sky, baring a large Eggman symbol on the side of it. Eggman punched in a few buttons on his dashboard, and opened a communications link with the tower. "Decoe, Bocoe. This is Doctor Eggman speaking. Open the bay doors upon my approach. I will be there shortly."

A robotic voice came through, "Yes, Doctor. How did you visit to the Kingdom of Acorn go? Pleasantly, I hope.

"Not so much. That blasted hedgehog still managed to thwart me. But not to worry. I've got many more plans in store for that annoying blue hedgehog. HAAAHAHAHAHAAAH!" Laughing to himself, admiring his self-indulged brilliance, Doctor Eggman proceeded toward his base, ready to hatch another scheme to take Sonic down once and for all.


	5. Chapter 5: Voyage of the Decepticons

"All preparations have been made, Starscream," Shockwave reported after the Decepticon invasion force arrived on Cybertron. Both Shockwave and Astrotrain were waiting in the Decepticon command tower where the space bridge was also found. Shockwave could not help but admire his handiwork at his own creation; a device that allowed for instant travel between Earth and Cybertron. Invented out of necessity, the Decepticons on Earth often used it to transport shipments of energon to help revitalize the Decepticon forces on Cybertron to crush the Autobots forever. Now Starscream and the invasion force had arrived through that same transport medium. "All the energon cubes that could be spared are already loaded into Astrotrain's frame, ready for transport."

"Good. Very good, Shockwave. So where's our transport?"

"You're looking at him, Starscream," Astrotrain answered.

"What?" Starscream was surprised to say the least. While he was one of the bulkier Decepticons, Starscream knew that Astrotrain could carry a number of Decepticons inside his frame when in shuttle form. After all, he and the five Combaticons fit when Megatron exiled them into deep space after Starscream's failed coup attempt. Now Shockwave was saying that he was to fit 18 Decepticons on their trek to Mobius, not to mention a supply of energon. "How is he supposed to fit all of us, Shockwave? Do you see how many of us are here?"

"Hey, you know I'm right here, Starscream!?" Astrotrain interjected. "You underestimate me. I can't promise a comfortable trip, but you'll get there one way or another. So, what does it matter?"

Starscream ignored him again and turned to Shockwave. "Just give us a few battleships and we'll lead a glorious invasion of their planet."

Shockwave was quick to retort. "That is not a sound strategy, Starscream. We only have preliminary analysis of a small portion of the planet. We don't know their full capabilities yet."

"But that's why we should attack them head on and take what should be ours now. If we attack them with force, we can crush any resistances before they would rise."

"I wasn't done, Starscream. In addition, Cybertron just doesn't have the energy necessary to power an invasion like that. Our ships for the moment are in the storage hangers until an ample supply of energon can be obtained to power them."

"Affirmative." It was Soundwave, prompting Starscream to turn and face him. "Fuel is our primary concern. A solid foothold is necessary, but stealth is preferable to open combat."

"Let's get something straight, Soundwave," Starscream stated with intensity and irritation. "I am in charge here. You will follow my commands and will not second guess me again. Is that understood?"

Soundwave stared at Starscream for a few tense seconds before backing off without saying a word. He did not respect Starscream as a leader in the least bit, and with good reason. Most of the excursions that Starscream has led ended in total and catastrophic failure. He was also known for his treacherous and back-stabbing nature, where on many occasions he tried to overthrow Megatron and take over as leader of the Decepticons. To top it all off, Starscream was arrogant, selfish, cowardly, and mostly crazy. From Soundwave's point of view, Starscream was not a worthy leader of the Decepticon faction. However, Soundwave remembered what Megatron had told him; to follow Starscream's orders unless such orders would directly threaten Megatron or his position as Decepticon leader. And if he was anything at all, it was being absolutely loyal to Megatron.

Starscream was not pleased with Soundwave's presence one bit. He knew that Soundwave held no loyalty or respect for him. The monotone communications officer was firmly in Megatron's court, his loyalty being stalwart. Starscream was also wary of his comrades nature of being an appeaser, always willing to do anything to stay on Megatron's good side, even if that meant turning any of their fellows in for mutinous motives or traitorous thoughts. Starscream wasn't even sure why he was tagging along here. As Megatron's loyal lackey, he would have stayed here to fight at his leader's side. Something was up, and Starscream was sure that it was not completely Soundwave's choice to be here. However, Starscream pushed those thoughts to the back of his memory circuits and got back to the business at hand.

Nodding to Soundwave, he turned back to Shockwave and Astrotrain. "Very well, Shockwave. We'll handle this excursion your way…at least this time. But don't think you can play me like a puppet on a string. I will lead us to victory on that puny planet and bring you a lot more energon than Megatron ever has."

Shockwave's lack of a face made it difficult to tell exactly what was going through his logic circuits. "We shall see, Starscream. I'll only believe your boast when I see it for myself." If anyone else had said it, it might have sounded hostile, but Shockwave was different. No matter what was going on, the appointed guardian of Cybertron always managed to sound calm, calculating, and completely devoid of all emotion.

"Then let's not waste any time," Starscream began as he turned to Astrotrain and said, "Astrotrain, transform and fly us through that warp gate."

As he was commanded to do, Astrotrain transformed into a space shuttle. Metal folded over itself, causing Astrotrain to appear to grow in size, when in actuality, armor and protections was being sacrificed to make for more cargo room. "Climb aboard. There may just more room than I thought."

Starscream turned to his troops. They all stared at him, almost expectantly. "Decepticons, board Astrotrain. We go to battle!" Starscream led the boarding operations and was first aboard, followed soon by Soundwave, Thundercracker, Skywarp, the Insecticons; Shrapnel, Bombshell, and Kickback, The Combaticons; Onslaught, Brawl, Blast Off, Swindle, and Vortex, and finally the Constructicons; Scrapper, Scavenger, Mixmaster, Long Haul, Bonecrusher, and Hook. Everyone took a spot around the inside cargo space, which in spite of what Starscream believed, was more spacious than expected. No one was cramped or crowded, even with the supply of energon in the back.

The boarding ramp then retracted, the doors closed, and Astrotrain the space shuttle took off, leaving Cybertron and taking his brethren through the warp gate in orbit, taking them into a new galaxy.

Since emerging from the portal, the trip went on for approximately one hour before Starscream broke the silence. "Astrotrain, exactly how long will it be before we arrive on this planet?"

"Approximately 7200 astroseconds, Starscream, more or less."

"7228.92 astroseconds to be exact, Astrotrain," The Constructicon, Hook corrected.

"So we're only half way there? Why didn't Shockwave program the warp gate to take us directly over the planet, or better yet, to the planet itself?"

"Secrecy," Soundwave answered. "Surprise is our greatest weapon. Alerting the local could have been problematic."

"Assumptions, assumptions. Always assumptions!"

"Megatron approved Shockwave's methods," Soundwave added.

That was the last thing that Starscream wanted to hear. He decided to take this moment to reinforce his position and give these Decepticons the only motivation they needed. "My fellow Decepticons, we go now on a quest for power, for energy, and for conquest. Remember that and victory is assured; not only against these puny flesh creatures, but against the meddlesome Autobots as well. Remember these two things though. One; I am commanding this invasion. You will follow my orders and never question my authority over you. Any who do not obey will find themselves reduced to scrap metal and used for spare parts!" Starscream then switched his attention solely to Soundwave, pointing a finger fiercely at the monotone robot. "And Soundwave, I don't want to hear your theories, assumptions, OR ANY mention of Megatron on this mission! If it were my choice, you would have stayed on Earth with Megatron. I don't know why you're here, but while you are, you have one purpose; information and intelligence. If you give bad intel or your information is faulty, you are useless to me." Starscream paused and pointed his null ray cannon at Soundwave. "I don't think I need to reiterate what happens to those who are useless to me, do I?"

Soundwave could not stay quiet anymore. "Starscream; not fit to lead."

Readying his weapon, Starscream smirked menacingly. "Looks like I'll have to beat some respect into you."

Out of nowhere, Starscream felt a firm grip on his shoulder plate. Turning, he realized it was one of his identical robot models, Thundercracker. "Your bullying will get you nowhere, Starscream. We follow you because Megatron commanded us to, not because we respect you."

Now Starscream was furious. His own subordinate was actually questioning him. Pointing his second null ray on the opposite arm at Thundercracker, he glared and said, "Know your place, fool. You and Skywarp have always been my troops, and YOU WILL obey me. Or…you can join Soundwave as a traitor to me and to the Decepticons!"

Thundercracker glared, but didn't say a word. Starscream, satisfied with the results, lowered both of his weapons and turned away, only to hear Thundercracker say, "Join Soundwave, huh? You know, that's not a bad idea."

"What did you say!?"

"I said, Starscream that joining him may not be a good idea." Thundercracker pushed past his commander and spoke to Soundwave directly. "Yeah come on, Soundwave. You're more qualified to lead this attack than…him."

Skywarp, the third identical robot in the trio that consisted of Starscream, Thundercracker, and himself, spoke up. "Uh, Thundercracker? Are you sure that's a wise decision."

"Who cares? I will not be subjugated by this traitorous snake," Thundercracker pointed a finger accusingly at Starscream as the words left his mouth.

"You'll pay for that with your life, Thundercracker!" Starscream brought both of his weapons to bear.

Skywarp started to panic, "Wait, Starscream. Please don't—."

Ignoring his purple-colored comrade, Starscream opened fire on Thundercracker, a single bright pink laser bolt bursting from each barrel attacked to his upper arms. Thundercracker quickly stepped aside, causing the bolts to harmlessly pass by, hitting the back end of Astrotrain's interior and barely missing Soundwave. Soundwave barely took notice, only glancing slightly back and forth between Starscream and the sizzling marks made by his null ray lasers.

Distracted by the near attempt on his life, Thundercracker didn't see his commander in time to avoid a hard punch to the head when Starscream charged him in the confusion. Thundercracker hit the floor hard face first. Starscream placed his foot on Thundercracker's back to keep him there and aimed his weapon right at his head. Starscream then looked around at the other Decepticons, who were now up against the wall to give both of them space, with looks of surprise, annoyance, and contempt on their faces. "And this, Decepticons, is why you never question or disobey Starscream."

He could not believe it would end like this. Thundercracker always hated Starscream, wanting almost any alternative than to suffer under his incompetent command. But he didn't want this, to meet his end at the hands of that same incompetent commander. He could not deny it though; he was careless and now he would pay the price. Waiting for the shot, Thundercracker just shut his optics and waited for the end; an end that never came.

"Infighting is disadvantageous to our mission," Soundwave said as he pulled Starscream's cannon away from Thundercracker. "Cooperation is required."

In a temper-filled fit, Starscream released his hold on Thundercracker and shoved Soundwave to the back wall. Shrieking in rage, he aimed his cannon at Soundwave and opened up with a volley of laser fire. He missed his target for the most part, only catching Soundwave in the arm. Soundwave had finally had it with Starscream. He rushed the air commander. Starscream was ready for him though, and the two soon found themselves grappling against each other, their faces just inches apart. "You will learn your place, Soundwave." This grapple for control of the fight went on for several tense minutes while the other Decepticons stayed out of it, with some of them taking quiet bets on who would win.

The edge finally went to Starscream, when he managed to overpower Soundwave and throw him back against the wall. Soundwave sprang to his feet, obviously not willing to surrender to his temporary commander. While this was not a preferred outcome from his perspective, the benefits could not be overlooked. If he did defeat Starscream, he could take charge his comrades would be spared Starscream's questionable judgment. But even he knew that he was no match for Starscream in a straight up fight. Thankfully, he never fights alone. "Rumble, Frenzy; attack!" Pressing a button on his left shoulder, Soundwave's chest opened in the form of a vertical slot and two small cassettes sprang from it. Transforming into two smaller identical robots; one colored two different shades of blue, the other colored red and black.

"You ready to do this, Rumble?" The red robot asked his blue lookalike.

"Let's take it to'em, Frenzy," the aforementioned Rumble replied.

Soundwave took a step back as Rumble and Frenzy charged forward, intent on letting his little minions do the fighting for him. Starscream laughed at this maneuver, remarking, "What's the matter, Soundwave? Can't fight your own battles? Coward!" He laughed more, focusing on Soundwave and ignoring the two smaller robots already in attack range.

"Look who's calling who a coward, Star-Screamer," Rumble insulted as he jumped, grabbing onto Starscream's left arm, while Frenzy took the other arm. Both twin robots hung on tight as Starscream shook furiously in an attempt to shake the pests off. This turned out to get a few laughs from the other Decepticons watching this spectacle, seeing their sub-leader looking like a fool while Rumble and Frenzy held on.

Seizing the opportunity, Soundwave issued another command as he opened his chest cavity again. "Laserbeak, eject." Another cassette tape ejected, but then took the shape of a metallic vulture with a rocket pack and two laser cannons attached to it. "Operation, air support." At his master's command, Laserbeak flew straight for Starscream, who was still trying to shake Rumble and Frenzy off. Laserbeak blasted Starscream with his lasers as he passed overhead, flying over and coming around for another attack. The unfortunate air commander fell over onto his back, now with the wicked twins climbing further up his chassis. Upon reaching his face, the two looked at him with nefarious smiles, their intent becoming obvious when their arms transformed into earth-shattering pile drivers. Before either of them could deliver the final blow, Soundwave's voice was heard. "Rumble, Frenzy, Laserbeak, cease attack." Laserbeak complied, perching defiantly on Starscream's head as Rumble and Frenzy got off of him, turning their pile driver arms back into regular five-fingered hands.

Starscream was allowed to stand up, standing there surrounded by his fellow Decepticons, seemingly defeated. He had been humiliated by Soundwave and his little attack squad of cassette robots. This would never do. Starscream was not about to lie down and take this defeat, especially not from Megatron's lackey whose only substantial role was being the Decepticon spy and communications officer. The long silence was broken up by a low and menacing chuckle coming from Starscream. "You see, Soundwave…this is why you could never lead us."

"Starscream; defeated. Surrender to me; Soundwave."

"Or we could always turn your head into scrap," Rumble threatened boastfully.

"That's where you're wrong. I am not defeated. YOU JUST HELD BACK!" Without warning and with surprising speed, Starscream plucked Laserbeak from his head and threw him into the wall right next to Soundwave, effectively rendering Laserbeak inactive and his master completely dumbfounded. Rumble and Frenzy tried to move in, but were halted suddenly when Starscream unleashed both of his null ray cannons upon them. Knocking them to the ground from the laser fire, they soon became motionless and harmless. Starscream then turned completely to Soundwave. Soundwave reached for the button on his chest in an effort to unleash more of his cassettes, but was not quick enough. Starscream shot Soundwave in the shoulder, causing the limb to go limp. Soundwave could not reach the release button now.

Taking advantage of Soundwave's recoil from the shot he just took, Starscream dashed forward faster than most would have expected, bringing his fist forward and slamming the communications officer hard in the chest. Soundwave hit the back wall and slumped to the floor. He found himself being lifted up by his neck joint as Starscream lifted up to his eye level, pinning him to the wall with one arm and aiming his gun at Soundwave with the other.

The other Decepticons stared in total disbelief. Starscream had actually defeated Soundwave, one of Megatron's most loyal soldiers. The one they thought to be nothing but an incompetent mess had just turned the tables. Soundwave was down and at Starscream's mercy. His most loyal helpers, his mini-cassettes, were broken messes on the floor. They could only watch in stunned silence as they thought Soundwave would meet his end right now before their mission to Mobius even began.

"This, Soundwave, is why YOU are not fit to lead. You don't know how to properly set examples. If you did, you would have had Rumble and Frenzy destroy me right there. But you care way too much in the Decepticon cause that you won't risk thinning our ranks to weed out the undesirables, much like Megatron himself." Starscream loosened his grip and shoved Soundwave to the floor, who just sat there, listening as Starscream turned his attention to his brethren. They all had looks of surprise and disbelief on their faces. "Will anyone else like to take Soundwave's side?" Starscream let the thought linger, waiting for someone to speak. Even Thundercracker remained silent, retreating a few steps backward when his commander's eyes fell upon him. "Good. Now all of you listen here. Any influence that our foolish leader Megatron had over us ended when we passed through the warp gate into this dimension. Get that through your logic circuits, for I lead the Decepticons here. Is that clear?"

A long silence filled the room as Starscream waited for their answer, enjoying every moment of this triumph. He had successfully shown his power over Megatron's most trusted follower in front of the other Decepticons. He would have preferred it to be Megatron himself, but Soundwave was a fine substitute. Soon, Skywarp stepped forward and raised a single hand in a respectful salute. "All hail Commander Starscream." Starscream was not surprised at this gesture, as Skywarp was always the most loyal to him, seconded only by Megatron himself.

He soon noticed that the other Decepticons started to step forward. Thundercracker was the next to mimic Skywarp's respectful salute. "All hail…Commander Starscream." The words drifted out of him distastefully, but sincerely as best that Starscream could tell. To him, it didn't matter. He wanted absolute loyalty from them, even if he had to scare them to get it. Soon, all as one, the Decepticons started chanting it. "All hail Commander Starscream. All hail Commander Starscream." The only ones not jumping in on this praise session were the Insecticons and Soundwave. Starscream didn't care about the Insecticon's loyalty, as they proved to be sneaky and traitorous little bugs on more than one occasion. Soundwave was a different story however.

Starscream turned around and looked at Soundwave when they stopped chanting. He extended a hand to Soundwave, offering to help him up to his feet. Soundwave knew what accepting his gesture meant. He would be swearing loyalty to Starscream while on this mission of conquest, doing all that Starscream asked without question. He was still loyal to Megatron though, causing conflict within him. Starscream's power could not be denied, but neither could Megatron's. Soundwave decided that the best option now as to play it safe, at least for now. He grabbed Starscream's hand. Starscream proceeded to help him up and look at him keenly, a smug smile spread across his metal face.

Without a single word, Soundwave straightened up, stood staunch, and saluted Starscream like all the others. Starscream, satisfied with the outcome, turned away from Soundwave, leaving him with his damaged cassettes. Soundwave tended to them and their damage while Starscream strutted about, flaunting his victory. He soon became lost in his thoughts. Starscream had defeated him using treachery and surprise, something that Soundwave should have suspected. But to see just how far the air commander would got to achieve victory taught Soundwave something. He was a dangerous foe, not to be trifled with unprepared. Megatron had sent him to keep Starscream in line. Up until this moment, he thought a more direct approach would be needed, keeping Starscream in check by reminding him of Megatron's authority. But now, so soon into the journey, that reminding Starscream of such authority only agitated him more. Soundwave had erred in his approach. Now he would rectify that, acting behind the scenes while still directly following Starscream's orders. It gave him something to think about while he repaired Rumble, Frenzy, and Laserbeak for the remaining trip to Mobius.


	6. Chapter 6: Small Packages

"Talk to me, NICOLE. What's the situation after Robotnik's attack?" That was Princess Sally, as she stood staring at a large computer screen with many buttons and switches on the console attached to it. The only thing that was present on the blank black screen was a solid green horizontal line.

"There are no injuries to report, Sally." The computer spoke back in a synthesized, but pleasant female voice. The green line also peaked and dipped on the screen as it spoke. "All citizens are safe and maintenance drones have been dispatched to repair the damage done by Doctor Eggman."

"That's a relief. Thanks, NICOLE. And…His name is Robotnik." Sally stated that last sentence in a joking fashion. Even when most others, including her sentient artificial intelligence program, NICOLE, started adopting the 'Eggman' alias for him, she always knew the evil scientist as Doctor Robotnik.

"I have been programmed to respond and reply with the most widely used name for all individuals in my data base. If you so desire, I can always address him as Robotnik when I talk to you."

Sally laughed at NICOLE's attempt at humor. "No, that's okay. Stick with your programming. I'm sure I'll get used to it someday."

"Doubtful, Sally." This statement caused Sally to chuckle a little louder. NICOLE's overall intelligence was quite extensive for an artificial intelligence. Stored inside her data storage devices were large amounts of information regarding Mobian geography, history, politics, and citizens. Being in service to the Acorn family since even before Sally was born, NICOLE had accumulated massive amounts of data. Only now was changing into something else. NICOLE was evolving from just a super computer into a fully self-aware artificial intelligence. This evolution often times caused her confusion, bringing a decent amount of amusement to her constant companion, Sally.

"How long will repairs take, NICOLE?"

"Calculating in the amount of damage taken, the number of activated drones, and the lack of on-lookers and bystanders…times in at approximately 5 hours, 6 minutes, 32 seconds."

"That's good to hear. Oh, what would I do without you NICOLE?"

"That is difficult to determine, as I have been in the service for 30 years, 5 months, 12 days, 3 hours, 10 minutes, 43 seconds."

"I know, longer than I've been around. It was a rhetorical question, anyway. You…don't need to answer those."

"I see, Sally. I'm still trying to properly interpret organic behavior properly."

"You're doing fine, NICOLE."

"…Thank you, Sally." NICOLE paused before saying it, evaluating the phrase of endearment and coming up with a simple response.

"You're learning. So what are the others doing now? Where's Sonic?"

NICOLE didn't answer immediately as the console beeped and chirped a few times. "Searching, Sally…" She paused as her circuits worked out the question posed to her, sifting through scanning data. "Sonic the Hedgehog and his companions have left the kingdom's boundaries. The blue hedgehog in particular…his location appears to be directly over the open ocean, along with Miles Prower and Amy Rose."

"Hmm…I had guessed they would have left the kingdom…and escaped the crowds by now. But flying further out to sea? What could they be doing out there?"

Doctor "Eggman" Robotnik sat inside the main control room at the top of his tower base, walking from one computer monitor to another. After fidgeting with a touch screen here, he'd move over to keyboard and type something in, only to slide his hands across the ever changing surface of a drafting table. Computer screens with various robot designs and templates were all over the place. Silently contemplating his next move and coming up with new inventions, the nefarious doctor planned and plotted his next attack. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the scream of a small child-like voice.

"Hey! I wanna see it too!" Eggman glanced over to identify the voice. It came from Bokkun, a small imp-like robot with a bluish black paint job, red boots on his feet, and a belt around his waist. He hovered in the air with the jet back on his back, hovering behind and over the other two robots standing over a table. Decoe and Bocoe turned and glared at their miniature comrade with their human-like eyes. Decoe was the taller of the duo, with a slender body, tall and elongated head, slim arms and legs, complete with a golden metallic paint. Bocoe was shorter and stockier, sporting a silver paint scheme, thicker limbs, and a flatter, dome-like head.

"We're busy helping the Doctor with his latest scheme," Decoe spat.

"And you're just in the way," Bocoe added.

Bokkun stared at the other two robots with a hurt expression, on the verge crying. While he could not produce tears, Bokkun behaved like a small child. He laughed while having fun, cringed when he was being scorned, and cried when he was sad. He didn't know why he reacted this way, just accepting it as part of his programming. "But…I wanna help too," Bokkun whined. "I can help. Doctor Eggman! I wanna help!"

"He's just hindering our…your work, Doctor," Bocoe retorted.

"I'm only…that because you big bullies won't give me a chance."

Decoe jumped into the conversation next. "If we did, you'd find some way to mess it up."

Eggman was getting sick of hearing his creations argue. "Silence!" Eggman yelled. "All of you! I don't have time to listen to your pointless bickering!"

Bokkun floated down to the ground in defeat, earning no positive recognition from his colleagues or his creator. His eyes looked like they were about to spill tears, but no such tear-producing function was built into his chassis. "Yes, Doctor," Bokkun whimpered. He turned to Decoe and Bocoe, wailing in sad frustration, "You two are so mean to me! I never get to do anything!" Bokkun rushed past them and out through the sliding door, crying loudly all the way, with the door closing behind him.

Docoe and Bocoe took a moment to look at the door and then at each other while Eggman got back to work. Leaning in, they whispered to one another. "Bokkun didn't take that well, did he." Decoe said more as a comment than a question.

"The Doctor sure has a way with words."

"Harsh words, but…true." With that, the two robots got back to work.

Outside the room, Bokkun sat against the wall, his head buried in his hands and crying non-existent tears until the feeling of sadness left him. Standing up and forcing a smile across his face, he said to himself, "I think I'll go outside. Maybe I'll fly around for a bit. It's a beautiful day after all." Content with his decision, Bokkun made his way to the main elevator that ran the entire height of the tower. Entering the access code that only he, Boce, Decoe, and Doctor Eggman himself knew, he took the elevator to the ground floor.

Exiting into a large open workshop after a short trip down, he got lost in his thoughts. _Why are they so mean to me? I just want to help the Doctor in his schemes. I can be useful. I want to be helpful. But…those two Decoe and Bocoe always hog all the attention. I get left in the back seat, ignored by Eggman thanks to them._ Soon his thoughts turned into spoken words as he exited one of the side doors. "One day, I will be the doctor's favorite little helper. Just you wait. Look out world, because here I come!"

Finding joy within his circuits again, Bokkun gleefully took to the air using his jet back, flying higher and higher. Feeling on top of the world, Bokkun took in the sights around him. The trees surrounding the base were quite pretty to look at, broken up in spots where open fields of wild grass and blue ponds were found. The sky above was clear with the sun shining down on his metal frame and everything else around. White wispy clouds floated high above him, higher than even he could hope to reach with his miniature jet pack.

In his peaceful flight, Bokkun soon found himself hovering over the shores of one of the many sandy beaches on Eggman's island retreat. It was all so peaceful, from the soothing sounds of the waves gently flowing along the sand, to the bright sun reflecting off of the ocean water. Bokkun landed and looked out, thinking about that day when that he dreamed of. Then something caught his eye. It was a single dot on the horizon. As Bokkun looked on, he realized it was getting bigger and coming from the air. As it got closer, he could make the distinctive shape of large engines, the pointed jet-like nose, and the 'X' formation of the front wings.

"That's Tails's plane," Bokkun began to jump up and down, looking frantically in all directions. He was less scared of the plane and more worried about what Eggman would say about the intruders. He knew where loyalties were at. "I-I-I have to warn Doctor Eggman!" Bokkun ignited his jet pack and took off, flying as fast as he could back toward the base. Their arrival did have Bokkun curious though. "But why are they here. I don't think Doctor Eggman invited them. I guess I'll find out."

In no time at all, Bokkun had arrived at the base. He flew straight up toward the top of the tower. He had long since lost sight of the X-Tornado, but he was sure they would be at the island soon. Reaching the top, Bokkun looked into the window where the command center was. Inside were Decoe, Bocoe, and Doctor Eggman still working over the computers and drafting tables. None of them noticed him outside. Bokkun began pounding on the glass to get their attention. They didn't seem to notice. "Aww, why did he have to install that—that special kind of glass he was talking about. They can't even hear me." Despite this fact, Bokkun tried again, this time adding in wild flight movements and arm waving to get some kind of attention.

Finally, Doctor Eggman turned toward the window and noticed Bokkun outside, still flailing wildly to get his attention. Eggman walked quickly over to a console and pushed a button. His voice could be heard through a speaker off to Bokkun's right just next to the window. Eggman spoke in a less than pleasant tone. "What is it, Bokkun? And why don't you use the call button outside the window. I had it installed in case something like this would happen!"

Bokkun flew over to the speaker and pressed small white button, so that his voice could be heard inside the control room. "I, uh…sorry, Doctor. I must have forgotten. But I think you should know that I saw the X-Tornado heading this way."

"What!? Are you sure!?"

"Positive, Doctor. I swear. You believe me right?"

Inside the control room, Eggman released the call button and turned to Decoe and Bocoe. "You two! Get to work! We have company! Scramble the new Egg Flapper models and have them blast that plane out of the sky!"

"Yes, Doctor," both robots said simultaneously as they both ran out of the control room to carry out their appointed task, leaving the Doctor all alone.

Eggman looked back at the window. Bokkun was still out there, looking in as he waited for new instructions. Pressing the call button, Eggman said, "Intercept them, Bokkun. Stall them until the Egg Flappers arrive!"

"But…what can I do, Doctor. I'm not good at fighting and I can't keep up with that plane."

"I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT! JUST KEEP THEM BUSY!"

Terrified at his creator's outburst, Bokkun timidly replied, "Y-yes Doctor Eggman." Bokkun ended the conversation and flew away back toward the X-Tornado."

"They will learn not to antagonize me. I'll show them the brilliance of Doctor Eggman." Eggman sat at a console and began typing in a set of commands, readying for the X-Tornado's arrival.

"I see the island," Tails reported from within the cockpit of the X-Tornaodo. Sitting behind him, buckled into the passenger seat was Amy Rose. Standing on the outside on the body of the X-Tornado was Sonic the Hedgehog, taking in the fresh air as the plane zoomed through the air. "And the base is dead ahead. Look at the size of that thing."

Amy looked past Tails and shivered nervously at the sight. "Are you sure this was a good idea, Sonic?"

Sonic just chuckled confidently. "Heh. That Egghead was mad that he was not invited to our little party. So…let's bring this party to him! Full speed ahead, Tails."

"You got it, Sonic." Tails always found himself invigorated with confidence whenever Sonic spoke so boldly. He pushed the throttle forward, pushing his jet faster. Flying low over the sea, the water reacted by shooting up from the force of the engines.

As the team approached, Tails saw a small black object in the air just in front of him. Before he could accurately identify what it was, the object was plastered on his windshield, looking in at him with two round green eyes. "Bokkun?"

"Well if it isn't Eggman's little messenger bot," Sonic stated rudely. "So, what you got for us this time?"

Recovering from his impact with the glass, Bokkun crawled on top of the plane, standing on the main body directly behind the cockpit. Sonic was standing right in front of him. "I—I uh, came to tell you that—the doctor, uh—."

Tapping his foot in impatience, Sonic interrupts the little robot's broken speech. "Well, what is it?"

Bokkun tapped his fingers together nervously as he looked around for an answer that was not coming to him. "Umm…I…" Bokkun then had an idea. Remembering the shoulder-strapped bag he always carried with him, Bokkun reached into it. "I uh…Surprise!" All of a sudden, Bokkun pulled out a round black bomb with a lit fuse, a huge smile across his face.

Sonic jumped back, caught completely off-guard by Bokkun's bomb. "Whoa!"

"Let's have a blast," Bokkun shouted gleefully. He threw the bomb toward the back of the plane. Bokkun closed his eyes and covered his audio receptors waiting for a loud explosion that would have rocked the plane down into the water. He would single handedly defeat Sonic, Tails, and Amy in one move. Finally, he would earn the respect of his peers and his creator. Maybe he would be given more privileges and freedoms. The explosion he was waiting for didn't come as he had expected though. "Huh? What?"

Bokkun looked toward the direction he lobbed the bomb, only to see it sitting harmlessly in Sonic's hand. Sonic was tossing and catching the ball like one would toss and catch a baseball, looking at Bokkun with a pityingly amused expression. "Come on, little guy," Sonic jeered as he tossed the bomb over the side of the plane. It hit the water and harmlessly exploded. "I can run faster than you can throw. But if you really wanna play?" Sonic flashed a cocky smile and raised his fists, ready for a fight.

Bokkun found himself scared for his safety. While he knew Sonic was not mean, he wasn't willing to test how far Sonic would go to drive him away. Bokkun dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together like a person at prayer. "No, please don't hurt me," Bokkun squeaked as he talked quickly. "I didn't mean it, I promise. I was just doing what I was told. Just please let me go. Please."

Sonic stared at Bokkun with that same cocky smile and relaxed his fighting stance. "Come on. Did you really think I'd hurt you? I don't beat up on small kids." Sonic chuckled at his last remark. Sonic had no malicious thoughts toward Bokkun. The little guy was more amusing than he was dangerous. Sonic knew that he easily outmatched Bokkun, and the little guy was not a fighter. "Well Bokkun. You can go anytime. We're here after all."

Bokkun took a second to look around and realized Sonic was right. They had just arrived at the island, passing over the beach. Bokkun then heard Tails's voice from inside the cockpit. "Transforming to X-Cyclone now." The X-Tornado slowed down as it descended to the beach. The two main boosters in the back opened up into a pair of robotic legs, while the rest of the plane's shape remained relatively unaltered. Tails brought the jet turned walking robot in for a landing, firmly placing it on the beach sand. Upon landing, Bokkun looked again at Sonic as the cockpit opened. Sonic answered is look by saying, "Why don't you go tell Eggman we're coming. It'll be more fun that way."

"Well, the thing is uh—." Bokkun was interrupted by the muffled sound of engines coming from the trees just at the edge of the beach. Sonic, Tails, and Amy heard it too as they all turned to look in the direction of the noise. "He already knows you're coming. Egg Flappers are on the way." At that moment, a small fleet of machines came into view, flying over the tree ridge. As they got closer, they could make out rounded bodies with wings jutting from both sides of the robots. They had a distinct metallic grin and optics that appeared to be covered by a pair of flight goggles.

As their numbers increased and they closed in on the team, Sonic looked up them and whistled in admiration "whooooo…looks like ol' Egghead's been busy."

"Well, see ya," Bokkun stated as he took off back toward the safety of the robots. "Wouldn't wanna be ya."

"Get back here you little twerp!" Amy shouted as the little impish robot flew away.

Sonic ignored him as Tails and Amy stepped out of the plane, taking a place on either side of Sonic. They had looks of shock on their faces as the robots' numbers seemed to keep increasing. Looking to Sonic with worried faces, he turned to them with a confident smile. "Aw yeah! This'll be fun!" Catching onto his confidence and inspired by his motivation, they prepared for battle. It was them against an army. Despite the odds, however, all three were confident that they could win.


	7. Chapter 7: Island Engagement

The robots attacked, and only as they charged downward did the trio realize what they were up against. The team had since jumped to the ground in readiness for the inevitable fight. The robots had different weapons attached to their underbellies and could be identified by different colors. They could see robots painted in colors of blue, green, and pink. Tails looked over the robots and identified what they were using. "Looks like those blue ones are using machine guns of some kind, judging by the telltale ammo storage and small lengthy barrel. The green ones appear to have cannons of some kind, but I can't tell what they fire. As for the pink ones, I…oh no, get down!" Jarred from his vocal analysis, the three did as were told when they saw two of the pink robots drop round orbs down on the ground right on top of them. Amy and Sonic jumped to the left and Tails to the right as the orbs hit the ground and exploded loudly, leaving small craters where they landed.

"Bombs?" Sonic asked rhetorically. "Oh now things are getting good." Sonic jumped to his feet and dashed forward.

"Be careful, Sonic," Amy pleaded, legitimately concerned for her life-long crush.

"I'll handle these bots," Sonic stated to his team. He then turned his attention and taunts toward the robots themselves. "Hey chrome domes! Come and get me!" Sonic took off toward the forest, with a majority of the robots following him. Amy stood up and out of nowhere, summoned her trademark Piko Piko Hammer. Taking up the weapon, Amy readied for the rest of the robots that approached her and Tails.

Sonic led a chase through the shrubs and trees as he was pursued by three blue Egg Flappers. Sonic ducked and dodged around a storm of bullets fired from the rapid-firing machine guns of the blue robots, which harmlessly hit the ground and trees. The Egg Flappers were faster than and more maneuverable than he expected, especially considering their slow approach at the beach. Sonic took an opportunity and jumped at a tree in front of him. Using it like a spring board, Sonic leaped toward the robots, landing on top of the middle one hard. Jumping off of that one, Sonic used the force to send the robot crashing to the ground. The remaining two Egg Flappers tried to disengage and circle around for another attack, but Sonic was too fast. Using the momentum he had already accumulated, Sonic bounced off of each robot's side, bashing them into trees and destroying them.

"Heh, looks like Eggman needs to upgrade." Sonic was feeling confident at his small accomplishment, knowing that many more robots remained. He saw shadows appear on the ground in front of him, coaxing him to turn around. In front and above him were two green Egg Flappers, each leveling high powered cannons at the blue hedgehog. Sonic smirked and challenged, "Okay, let's see what you got." As if on cue, the robots opened fire, each one launching a powerful plasma bolt at their target. The robots incinerated the shrubs in their way and left black burns in the dirt just as Sonic jumped away and sped off, prompting the robots to follow him deeper into the forest.

Back at the X-Tornado, things were not going well for Tails and Amy. Their foes greatly outnumbered them, with Tails using his two tails like a helicopter propeller to fly, ducking and dodging plasma shots. Amy was pinned behind a large boulder a distance away from Tails and the plane by machine gun fire from a pair of blue Egg Flappers. She cowered behind it, shivering in fear, poking her head out only to have a near miss with a bullet. She finally broke out and yelled, "Tails, help!"

Tails turned his head toward the sound of the scream, his sensitive fox ears hearing Amy crying in fear from behind her boulder. He attempted to fly toward her location, but halted suddenly has a plasma bolt zoomed by him, barely missing his chest. His 4 pursuers were not letting up or slowing down. Tails decided to get creative. He turned toward the sky and flew straight up. The robots followed, flying straight up after him, firing all the way. Tails managed to avoid them with a few near misses. But then he smiled as he reached under the fur on his back, just above his spinning tails. In his hand, he held 3 golden rings. "Let's try out these ring bombs I invented," he stated to himself. With a single motion, he dropped the ring bombs behind him, letting them fall toward the Egg Flappers. He glanced behind him to check his handiwork.

The rings found their targets, each one luckily catching an individual robot. Upon impact, the rings detonated in a quick bright flash. The robots hit began sparking and flying erratically. One of them slammed into the robot that was not hit as the other two fell like rocks to the ground. The two robots that collided lost the ability to fly as well, soon following their doomed brethren. Tails gleamed proudly at his handiwork, but soon snapped back to reality when he realized he had another problem. "Amy!" The realization hit him as he turned back toward where he last heard her, flying as fast as he could.

Amy was so far getting lucky. Her attackers did not move from their spots, seemingly content with just keeping her in that spot. _Why don't they try and finish me off?_ Amy's question to herself was soon answered when she saw another pair of Egg Flappers approaching, this pair being a pink color with bombs at the ready. Amy stared in horror as they got closer, ready to deliver their payload right on top of her. _What can I do? If I try to run, I'll be gunned down. But if I stay…I'll most surely be blown to bits._ Amy tried her voice again, "Sonic! Tails! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!"

Tails looked at the scene in front of him, able now to see Amy and the Egg Flappers moving in on her. A sense of dread filled him as numbers and calculations ran through his mind. _They're too close to her. I can't fly fast enough to reach her. But if I don't make it in time—._ Tails cut off the thought, not wanting to think about letting Amy die like this because he wasn't fast enough. "I'm coming, Amy!" Then, coming from the other side of the beach, something caught his eye. It was something fast and blue.

Amy cringed as the bombers came closer and closer. She shut her eyes and scrunched up, waiting for the end; and end that did not come. "Hey bolt brains! Didn't anyone tell you not to attack a defenseless girl?" Amy recognized that voice. She looked up and saw Sonic standing on top of the boulder she was hiding behind, his back turned to her and staring down the gunners. Her heart swelled with admiration at the sight of Sonic rushing to her rescue. Sonic flipped backwards and landed on the top of the bombing Egg Flappers. Staring at the blue ones, he said, "Heh, come on tin grins. Try and hit me." The gunners turned their attention to Sonic and opened fire. Sonic jumped and bullets began tearing into the left bomber, shredding the internal wires and destroying it. Sonic landed on the second bomber, and the same fate befell it, with bullets tearing it apart. Sonic landed on the boulder again and grinned at the robots. "Heheheh. Dumb bots." They leveled their guns at him, but Sonic just stood there with a confident grin. Without taking his eyes off of his assailants, Sonic pointed up to the sky. "Why don't you try looking up?"

The robots ignored him and just moved in closer, their guns ready to fire. Sonic chuckled. "I tried to warn you." Their guns cocked and were just about to fire when they suddenly struck by two golden ring bombs from above. The robots sparked and twitched until they fell to the ground. Even while down they continued to glitch out and spark. Tails then landed in between Sonic and the robots, smiling proudly. "Nice going, pal." Sonic stated to his friend.

"Thanks, Sonic. I'm just glad these dummy ring bombs work."

"Heh, you can make anything work if you just set your mi—Gaack!" Sonic was stopped by the feeling of arms tightening around him from behind in a passionate hug.

"Sonic! Thank you, thank you! I knew you'd save me!" Amy was clutching her hero tightly, nearly choking him. Sonic gave a motion of this to Amy, who released her grip reluctantly. "Cutting it a little close though aren't you?"

Sonic snickered at her remark. "Hey, I had to deal with a few metallic pests in the woods. And besides, I'm never late. I'm right on time every time."

"You were great, Sonic!" Tails complimented as he strolled up next to him. Sonic and Tails began exchanging words but failed to notice what was happening behind them. Amy looked past the two best friends as movement caught her eyes. The two robots that Tails stunned were slowly rising back into the air, seeming to have recovered from their shock. Their guns leveled at Sonic and Tails, who were completely oblivious to the danger.

Amy sprang into action, summoning her hammer and leaping forward. Sonic and Tails took notice of this and watched as she raised her hammer to attack. Amy brought her hammer in for a sideways swing and struck the right-most robot hard, causing it to slam into its comrade. Both robots fell to the ground off to the left. Amy was not done though. She rushed over and began smashing them each repeatedly with her hammer until they were flattened pieces of metal. Amy looked down at her handiwork, panting from the shock of the quick encounter. She finally turned to Sonic and Tails, who were staring at her with dumbfounded expressions. "What?" She asked.

After a silence, Sonic spoke up. "Uh…Thanks, Amy. Nice going." Sonic said the last line with a smile and a thumbs-up sign. Amy beamed back, pleased with her actions and with Sonic's approval.

The group soon looked back to the sky as the sound of Egg Flapper engines could be heard. But they were now heading away from the beach and further toward the center of the island. "What could they be doing?" Tails asked.

"They're probably heading back to Eggman's base." Amy answered, observing the actions of the robots and drawing the most logical conclusion.

"Then that's where we're going." Sonic stated to Amy and Tails. "So, are you two ready for another round with Eggman?" Sonic extended a downward facing palm out toward them, holding it there waiting for a response

"I'm with you, Sonic." Tails said, answering Sonic's gesture by placing his palm on Sonic's hand. Both turned to Amy, who was smiling brightly.

"I couldn't just sit by and let my Sonic go into danger alone. Of course I'm with you!" Amy added her hand to the group, placing it on top of Tails's.

"Okay then. Let's go get'em." Sonic said as the group withdrew their hands. Sonic ran off into the forest toward the center of the island, but slow enough so that his friends could follow.

"Blast those three!" Eggman yelled as he witnessed the feeds from his Egg Flappers. "They fended off the main attack wave."

"But Doctor Eggman, what if you simply attacked them with the entire Egg Flapper fleet?" Bocoe asked.

"I can't risk losing any more. If I did, there would not be enough to defend the base. They are still in the testing phase anyway."

Decoe then added his own question. "But how what will moving the Egg Flappers back to the base do if you are worried they will just be destroyed?"

"You metal dolts don't get it. I was just testing the Egg Flappers. But I've got more surprises in store for them when they arrive. Have you forgotten about my new ground troops already?"

Decoe and Bocoe looked at each other, confused at their creator's words. But soon, their heads perked up as they remembered what Eggman was referring to. "Oh…those."

"Yes." Eggman typed some commands into his keyboard as he continued talking, but this time to no one in particular. "I am now deploying Egg Pawn units for external defense. Additional ones will be reserved in case they by some miracle get passed them AND the Egg Flappers already out there. But…even if they do get past all of that…" Eggman paused to laugh to himself ominously. "They won't be prepared for my next surprise."

"Well that trip was shorter than expected," Tails commented as the team hid in a big patch of bushes on the inner edge of the forest.

"Probably because Sonic got impatient and took us for one of his speed trips," Amy complained, shaking her head from dizziness.

Sonic laughed quietly to himself as he surveyed the area in front of them. This was Eggman's base all right. In a small clearing was a high purple colored metallic tower that seemed to stretch up into the clouds. In the air were the familiar shapes of Egg Flappers as they circled the base, no doubt waiting for them to attack. On the ground and all around, Sonic saw large but stocky robots patrolling around. They were not much taller than Sonic and his friends, but what they lacked in height, they made up for in width. They had rounded orange-colored bodies that were attached to short and thin legs and wide platform feet. Their heads had the same metal grin of the Egg Flappers, but had two blue-colored optic lenses instead of pilot-style goggles for eyes. Their arms were almost as stocky as their legs, all armed with a different array of weapons. Some wielded lances, some had large and almost comical guns, and others toted large rocket launchers. Some combined these armaments with large round shields, with some of the shields sporting dangerous looking spikes.

"How are we supposed to get passed all of those robots?" Amy asked with concern in her voice. "There's so many of them."

"If we approach this carefully, we will find a way. Maybe if we…" Tails was cut off by the sound of air whooshing by him. He and Amy looked to their right where Sonic was standing next to Tails. Sonic was gone. When they looked around, they both saw Sonic in front of them, out in the clearing and in clear sight of the robots.

"What in the world is he doing?" Amy hissed.

Before anyone could act, all of the stocky robots in visual range turned their attention to Sonic. Despite their cartoony grins, they were still intimidating, raising their weapons in preparation to attack. Suddenly, Eggman's voice was heard over loud speakers from higher up in the tower. "Ah, Sonic. This sure is an unexpected…and pleasant surprise. You're just in time to for a test. I've been waiting for a chance to test out my new E-1000 model machines, including the Egg Flappers you met earlier, and my new shock troops you see standing in front of you; the Egg Pawns. And it looks like I just found a guinea pig…well…a guinea hedgehog more like. GHAAAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"

Eggman's bad attempt at a joke made Sonic smile and shake his head in exasperation. "Nice toys Eggman. They may be large…but let's see if they can catch me!"

Sonic was just about to speed away when Eggman's voice came back. "Hold it, hedgehog! Don't try to fool me with a diversion. I know your sidekick and your girlfriend are hiding somewhere in the bushes nearby. So why don't we skip to the part where you, Tails, and Amy come out and give my Egg Pawns some target practice."

A small bit of Sonic's confidence left him when it became clear that Eggman saw right through his unspoken plan. Amy and Tails were dumbfounded as they hid in the shrubs. Sonic glanced backward, unable to see Tails and Amy. But he did know they were looking at him. He smiled comfortingly and confidently and nodded. Amy and Tails delayed for a second, taking a second to exchange glances before standing up and taking their places next to Sonic. Amy yelled up at the tower, "Okay, Eggman. You wanted us. Here we are."

"Bold words, my dear. Let's see how you hold that composure as my robots destroy you in the name of the Eggman Empire!" Eggman then turned his voice to the robots. "Egg Pawns! Crush them!"


	8. Chapter 8: Not as Expected

The journey through the Mobius Star System was not the easy trip that Astrotrain had expected. Despite him refueling before the voyage, his personal energon levels were already half-depleted due to the long trip while carrying a heavy payload of his Decepticon brethren. That was not taking into account the others would not stand still, as the earlier brawl took a lot out of his fuel and patience. Even after Starscream's underhanded victory, the others refused to remain still, with some small squabbles between them. Thundercracker wouldn't stop trash talking Starscream, Soundwave was still doing repairs on his cassettes, and Starscream would not shut up in general. Just when he was about to completely lose his patience, the shape of their destination came into his sights. Mobius was moments away.

"Hey!" Astrotrain bellowed. "Brace yourselves, Decepticons. We're coming up on Mobius and will be coming in for a landing shortly."

"Well it's about time, Astrotrain," Starscream complained. "Now when we touch down, we'll begin our search for energy sources that we can tap into."

Astrotrain approached the planet steadily until the heat and force of reentry began to strike his hull. The Decepticons inside began to rattle as the force translated to Astrotrain's interior. "I hate this part, part," complained Shrapnel. He and the other Insecticons were being tossed around more than the others, except for Rumble and Frenzy. The small twin robots were smaller, just slightly larger than an average human, and were being thrown around the cab like a pair of pinballs.

Frenzy finally grabbed onto a metal ridge and yelled, "Hey what's with the rough landing, Astrotrain!? This is not cool!"

The transport shuttle robot responded to the question posed to him, as he was not having an easy time. "We're hitting some rough upper atmosphere conditions; an ion storm. The surges of electrical energy are messing with my systems. Hold on." Astrotrain flew as steady as he could, which was not much considering the fact he was teetering erratically. Suddenly, an electric bolt struck the shuttle, causing him to jerk hard and for his side hatch to open.

Air and wind rushed inside the cabin, causing a massive amount of suction. The larger Decepticons managed to hold their ground by planting their feet firmly on the metal floor. The Insecticons Shrapnel, Kickback, and Bombshell were sliding toward the door though. Shrapnel turned to Kickback and Bombshell and barked, "Insecticons, transform and abandon ship, ship!" at his command, all three transformed into their alternate robotic forms. Shrapnel took the shape of a stag beetle, Kickback grasshopper, and Bombshell a rhinoceros beetle. The trio flew out the open door, abandoning the shuttle and the other Decepticons.

"Those cowardly bugs!" Frenzy shouted as he and Rumble held onto a piece of metal to prevent from flying out the open door. Frenzy held on just fine, but unbeknownst to the others, Rumble was slipping. Without warning, Rumble lost his grip and flew out of the door with a yelp of surprise. Frenzy took notice just as his twin made the door. "RUMBLE!"

Soundwave managed to slide to the edge of the door as the suction in the cabin subsided and looked out, seeing the silhouette of Rumble falling to the ground below. While he didn't show it, Soundwave was concerned for Rumble's safety, but in a more practical way. He knew that if Rumble were to be discovered by the wrong group or individuals, their surprise attack on Mobius would fail. But he would have to wait until they touched down before he could begin a search.

"Hang on, Decepticons!" Starscream ordered. "Once we touch down, our mission begins…no matter who we lose." He glared at Soundwave as he uttered that last sentence, to which he did not get a return glance. Starscream did not care about any of his troops' wellbeing, as long as he got his glory.

Scrap metal littered the ground around Eggman's base. Egg Pawn pieces lay strewn about, broken and destroyed. A silence fell over the land, almost as if the air had gone still. The only things that were moving were the group of Egg Flappers high up in the sky near the top of the tower. The silence was suddenly broken as Sonic zoomed by, with laser bolts shooting passed him.

A line of four Egg Pawns stood their ground aiming their large laser guns at their blue target. They were protected from a frontal assault by their spiked shields. Their defenses kept Sonic at bay, but his speed prevented the Egg Pawns from getting a solid lock. Sonic ran back and forth over and over, seemingly toying with his attackers. But there was more to Sonic's motives.

From the air, a cluster of ring bombs fell on top of the robots. Stunned and shaking from the hit, the robots dropped their weapons and shields. Sonic took this opportunity to dash forward, striking the inner left Egg Pawn. His tackle was not strong enough to rip through it, but the impact knocked the robot on its back, leaving it flailing helplessly. Sonic used the momentum from his hit to start running in a tight circle around the remaining robots faster than the naked eye could see. Sonic kicked up dust in his wake, with the robots still jerking from the ring bombs' overload but still trying to reacquire their target. It was soon apparent that the three Egg Pawns were lifting up into the air.

Sonic was whipping up a tornado with his blinding speed that was strong enough to lift the Egg Pawns. They were swirling wildly inside the vortex, spinning and smashing against each other, their weapons having since been torn from their hands and joining them in the mess of spinning metal. Sonic finally skidded to a stop and the twister lost its power. What came down from the air was a random assortment of robot parts. Arms torn clean from the bodies, metal legs bent in different directions, and shield spikes impaling their chassis.

The last Egg Pawn tried to stand when the stunning effect wore off, but soon found itself smacked hard to the ground by a Piko Piko Hammer. Amy hammered away at the thing until it was unrecognizable except as a pile of twisted scrap metal. Amy looked over to Sonic with a proud grin. Tails landed between them, standing confidently over the broken robots around them. Amy then said, "So now we take the fight to that fat creep, right?"

"You betcha." Sonic chortled.

"Don't get too excited, boys!" It was Eggman over his loud speaker again. "Those were the easy ones! If you dare step inside, which I'm sure you will…you will regret having ever stepped foot on my island!"

The three looked up to the tower where the voice came from. Unsure if Eggman could hear him, but hoping he could, Sonic answered his threat. "That boast sounds familiar, Eggman. And who said this was your island?"

"I did you little rat. I lay claim to all that I see! You will all fall before the might of Eggman Empire! I intend to invade the whole planet with these new robots of mine…and dominate everything in this world. And you, Sonic the Hedgehog, will…what? What is it, Decoe!?"

The gang stood there in silence, a little puzzled by the abrupt halt in Eggman's ranting. Sonic looked to Amy and Tails, who just shrugged. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Tails spotted something. "Hey, Sonic. Look up there." Tails pointed to the sky. Sonic and Amy followed his finger and saw an object falling from the sky and falling fast. As they watched, the object was noticeably getting closer. "What do you think it is, Sonic?" Tails asked.

Rumble fell like a rock, flailing and fighting in vain to stop his descent. All of the Decepticons were outfitted for short range flight, but Rumble could not initiate his flight function while in free fall. He shouted in frustration to the open air, "This was not in my job description!" Rumble finally looked down and saw land rushing up at him. It was a small island in the middle of the ocean, with the form of Eggman's tower stretching up, almost seeming to greet him. "Well at least it's not water!" Rumble exclaimed as he fell down and collided with the upper portion of the tower.

He smashed hard into the wall, punching a hole through the solid metal. Rumble tumbled along the floor until finally skidding to a stop, his face grinding along the floor. Looking up and around, he found himself in a wide open and well lit room. The room was large by his standards, though he was sure his larger Decepticon comrades would not agree with him. The little Decepticon was not scared in the least bit, but he was genuinely curious as to where he had ended up. He also wondered why he did not hear from the others. "Where am I," Rumble said to himself.

"You are in my tower stronghold." Rumble heard a droning voice come from somewhere above. He scanned the room, but saw no one.

"Hey, who said that? Show yourself."

In front of him at the back wall, a metal covering slid open to reveal a glass window. Through the glass, Rumble saw a fat human staring down at him with a puzzled and irritated expression. "Silence you impotent machine! I am the great and brilliant scientist, Doctor Eggman, and I will be asking the questions."

Rumble felt annoyance rise up within his metal frame, unable to comprehend why this life form would talk to him in such a demeaning way. "Watch your tongue, human. You have no idea who I am!"

Eggman glared down at Rumble and yelled, "How dare you speak to me that way, robot! Now identify yourself!" Eggman slammed a button down and a metal sheath came down on the wall behind Rumble, sealing the hole he made from impacting the tower.

Rumble had no interest in humoring Eggman, except maybe to threaten him. "I am Rumble, and I can demolish this entire complex with my bare hands if I so choose."

Eggman observed this machine inquisitively, placing his hand on his chin in a thinking manner. He certainly admired this robot's boldness, but this was an unknown he didn't need right now. He knew Sonic, Tails, and Amy would get in soon enough. The last thing he needed was this feisty robot to become a problem. "Well…Rumble. You are in no position to be making demands or threats. Stand down now."

"You will not take me alive, human!" Rumble retorted harshly.

Eggman paused for a second as he stared down at Rumble. Something was different about this robot. He had free will and a spark of life that Eggman had never seen before in a machine, except for the ones he built. But since Rumble was not his creation, this left him unsettled. "Very well. If that's the way it's going to be? I was saving this for Sonic and his friends. But perhaps you'll make a good test subject." Eggman reached down at the console in front of him and pulled a lever, grinning and snickering the whole time.

Seconds later, Rumble took notice of a large door that he didn't see before open below Eggman's observation window. The door opened into a room with no lights on inside. Rumble could not make out anything within the blackness. He readied himself for a fight as he heard the sound of heavy footsteps from the dark room. Something big and heavy was stepping out. From the darkness, a massive robot made its way out. The robot resembled Eggman's Egg Pawns, but was much bigger. Its armor was a metallic grey color, and its shoulders were larger. The robot's head was protected by a helmet and the face showed a menacing glare as it stomped its way out. But the thing Rumble noticed most was the robot's weapon. Held in its right hand and slung over its shoulder was a massive mallet shaped hammer. The ends of each side were flat, but the hammer had a ring of spikes on each side.

"Behold the first of my newest model of heavy shock troops, the Egg Hammer! I don't know where you came from or who built you, Rumble…but soon you will be nothing but a pile of scrap metal and used as raw materials for my robot army!"

"You think size scares me? I've fought much bigger than this."

"We'll see about that. Now I'd love to stay and watch, but I have other matters to attend to. My little assistants here will be down to pick up your pieces when my robot is finished with you." Eggman turned and walked out of sight and was replaced by the forms of Decoe and Bocoe. The two robots looked down at the two combatants, waiting for the fight.

Rumble eyed his new opponent fiercely. This early of an engagement with hostile forces was not as expected. However, this did not deter him. In fact, Rumble was getting excited. The first fight of the invasion, and he was the only participant. Rumble reached behind him and pulled out his hidden blaster weapon. He opened fire on the robot, expecting a quick victory. Unfortunately, Rumble underestimated his opponent. The robot's body armor was thick enough to make his shots practically useless.

The Egg Hammer lumbered toward Rumble and raised its hammer. Attempting to crush Rumble, the robot swung downward. Rumble jumped backward and avoided the hit. The impact the massive weapon made was enough to shake the entire room, causing Rumble to stagger. He stood up quickly though and continued to shoot. He aimed at the head, but the robot's movement and protective helmet prevented him from getting a precise shot. Rumble decided to use his fists. He was confident he would not need his pile driver weapons to defeat this seemingly inferior robot, no matter how strong its armor was.

Dodging another downward smash, Rumble struck the robot on its thinner legs. The robot stumbled, but still remained standing. Rumble looked up to see the hammer rise again. This time, he ducked and slid between the robot's legs, snickering to himself as he thought it was a clever move. He looked over at the robot as he saw it was having a slow time of turning around. "What's the matter big guy? Rumble too much for you to pummel?"

With its back still turned, the robot brought its hammer up as if it were about to swing. Rumble stood in stunned confusion, unsure of how or who the robot could possibly be attacking. Then it hit him. The robot's hammer struck Rumble hard. The Egg Hammer's torso spun around in a 360 circle, allowing it to hit Rumble while he was still standing behind the massive machine. Rumble flew through the air until he hit the wall underneath the observation window, sliding down the wall and onto his face. Rumble shook the dizziness off as he looked up at the Egg Hammer. The robot had just stopped spinning, but it was having trouble standing, wobbling on one foot about to fall over.

Now Rumble was mad. This inferior machine had actually managed to damage him. Rumble stood up with renewed vigor. "Okay, now the gloves are coming off. You think you're the only one with a big hammer?" Rumble held his arms out as they changed shape into pile drivers. "I'll show you how to shake things up around here!" Rumble hunched over, steadied himself, and began striking the ground repeatedly with his pile drivers, causing the whole room and the whole base to shake.

Up in the observation room, Decoe and Bocoe struggled to keep their footing as the massive vibrations from Rumble's strikes shook their room. "Whoooaaaa, that robot sure does pack a punch," Bocoe remarked.

The Egg Hammer teetered around, unable to stand straight. Rumble pounded the floor harder and harder, his frustration and satisfaction growing with each strike as he saw his opponent stagger around. "Fall you scrap heap!" Instead of falling though, the robot raised its hammer and hit it against the ground. The resulting conflict of opposite vibrations caused Rumble to wobble and stop hammering. He looked back at his foe as it straightened up and stood its ground, waiting for Rumble to make the next move. "You wanna play that way huh? Fine, let's go!" Rumble rushed the robot, eager to smash it with his pile drivers.

On the same level as the robotic fight but in a different area, Sonic and his friends had just finished dealing with a small patrol of Egg Pawns. Amy finished smashing one's head in and she rejoined Sonic and Tails. Standing in front of them was Doctor Eggman and Bokkun. Bokkun was scared, but Eggman stared at the trio with cold and menacing confidence. "I see you waste no time in destroying all that I create, Sonic the Hedgehog."

"And I see you waste no time in creating new robots for me to destroy," Sonic chuckled back. "Too bad Eggman, this is the end of the line."

"You insolent little hedgehog, you don't know the real genius of Doctor Eggman."

"You've lost again, Eggman," Tails said. "Just give up."

"How about I send you to…help test out my latest invention. And maybe deal with a second problem of mine." Just after Eggman spoke, he pulled a small rod from his jacket with a button on the top. Pressing the button down with an evil grin, a dome shield appeared around the trio. They looked around nearly in a panic, unsure of what was going to happen. "How many times are you going to fall into my traps? Now be gone!" Eggman pushed the button again, and this time the trio disappeared in a flash of light.

Bokkun looked at where they were in amazement. Turning to the doctor, he asked, "Where did they go, Doctor? Did you vaporize them?"

"No, Bokkun. I want them to fall at the hands of the Egg Hammer. But if that doesn't work, well…let's just see if Rumble sees them as friends or foes."

In the blink of an eye, the trio of heroes found themselves standing in a new room. It was much larger and Eggman was nowhere in sight. "What happened?" Amy asked.

Tails answered with "He must have trapped us in some kind of teleportation device and transported us here. But…why?"

Their answer became clear when they heard a loud noise coming from behind them. On the other side of the room were two robots. The bigger one was swinging a hammer around, trying to hit the smaller one. The smaller robot was counterattacking with arms that were in the shape of pile drivers. "I guess that's what Eggman was talking about," Sonic commented. "I wonder why Eggman would pit his own robots against each other." Sonic watched the two fighting robots, but was unsure of what to make of it. While it did make sense to him that Eggman usually liked to test his machines, most of his tests involved conflicts between himself and Eggman's creation. This was something new and it made Sonic a bit uneasy.

The Egg Hammer was not making it easy for Rumble. Using its spinning motion again, it kept the little Decepticon at bay. All Rumble could do was wait for an opening. Finally, the robot stopped spinning and wobbled again, dazed from its attack. Rumble used this to his advantage and drove his pile drivers against the ground again, causing the robot to fall over. Rumble jumped onto the robot's chest and came up to its head. He was so proud of his power at this moment. A large robot was to be taken down by him. Surely, he thought, that this would get him the respect of the other Decepticons. As he lowered his pile drivers toward his victim's head, he soon realized that he was being lifted into the air. Using its free hand, the Egg Hammer grabbed Rumble firmly, preventing the small robot from escaping.

"Put me down!" Almost seeming to oblige Rumble's request the robot did put him down by slamming him hard to the floor. Rumble landed on his back and stared straight up. The Egg Hammer seemed much bigger from this angle. He looked on as the massive robot lifted its hammer again. Rumble tried to move, but was not fast enough to get away. Seconds after the strike, Rumble's sense went quiet and everything faded to black. This defeat was not as he expected.


	9. Chapter 9: True Value

"Ooooohhh, that's gotta hurt," Sonic remarked as he and his friends witnessed the Egg Hammer almost flatten the smaller robot. Sonic was getting excited now. Seeing such a large robot in front of him all ready for the scrap heap got him in the mood for a fight.

"Well, it would seem little Rumble could not handle my Egg Hammer." Sonic, Tails, and Amy followed the voice upward and saw the form of Doctor Eggman standing inside the observation room, with Decoe, Bocoe, and Bokken standing around him. "Now once I'm through with you three, I'll take our little robotic guest and transform him into my obedient servant. Now my lovely creation, crush them!"

"Not a chance, Eggman," Sonic taunted as the massive Egg Hammer robot turned its attention to the three animals. Sonic and Amy charged forward toward the robot. The Egg Hammer walked forward with its hammer poised to attack, rattling the floor with each step.

"So how are we going to bring this thing down, Sonic?" Amy asked.

"Simple, Amy. We just keep attacking till it falls!" Sonic was excited for this. Eggman was rolling out the big robots and he wouldn't want it any other way. Sonic may not have had a solid plan to deal with this large metal monster, but that did not deter the blue hedgehog. He was enjoying the moment too much. "I'll handle this big brute, no sweat." Before another word was said, Sonic dashed ahead, leaving Amy behind.

Amy looked at her hero speed past her and felt a sudden sadness build up in her. This was one of the few times that she was directly next to Sonic on one of his adventures, but even now she felt like she wasn't needed or wanted. Sonic didn't even ask for her help when they came on this mission. She had to beg and plead to be allowed to come along and help. Even though she had faith in Sonic and Tails, she didn't want to see either of them, especially Sonic, hurt. Now here she is trying to prove that she can be more than a damsel in distress, and her hero was ignoring her efforts. Her run turned into a slow jog until she came to a complete stop. She stared almost dazed as Sonic and Tails engaged the robot. She just stood there and glanced back and forth between the fight and her own weapon. She felt useless before the fight even began, and that started to make her angry. She suddenly gained awareness of where she was again after getting lost in her thoughts by the loud sound of metal striking metal.

"Hey, bolt brain, down here!" Sonic grinned as the robot turned to face him. "Nya nya." Sonic rudely stuck his tongue out at the robot, daring it to attack him. Acknowledging this gesture, the robot raised its hammer above its head with both hands and swung downward swing, smashing the ground with it. When it withdrew its hammer, Sonic was not there. Tails, who was hovering above the robot at the time, gasped at the thought of it smashing Sonic. He didn't even see Sonic move. All of a sudden, a blue figure appeared on the robot's head. "Missed me." Sonic danced on the robot's head in pretentious glee.

"Now, Sonic?" Tails asked from above.

"Get'em now, Tails!" On command, Tails dropped a three ring bombs right onto the robot's head, with Sonic jumping out of the way a split second before impact. The robot began to jitter and glitch, but didn't fall over. Sonic stood in front of the robot as it was stunned and jittering from the bombs. Tails landed next to Sonic and both looked up at it with satisfied smiles. But those faces of glad pride soon turned to faces of stunned shock as the robot quickly recovered and stared down at the duo with those menacing green eyes.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," Tails said in unhappy surprise.

A loud cackling laugh was heard coming from the observation room as their attention was drawn to Eggman. After he stopped laughing, Eggman regained his composure and explained. "This robot is tougher than it looks, fox boy. I'll admit, those ring bombs were an unexpected surprise for me. But while my Egg Pawns and Egg Flappers may have been severely affected by them, my new Egg Hammer model robot's armor is too thick for such a blast to be efficient. You'll have to do better than that."

Sonic and Tails frowned and turned back to the robot, which showed no signs of being damaged at all, despite the glitch fit it had seconds ago.. It brought its hammer down hard on them, prompting Sonic and Tails to dive to either side to prevent getting squished. Springing to their feet, the duo got ready for a fight. They were soon joined by Amy, who took a spot defensively right next to Sonic. "Bring it on, you giant trash can! I won't let you hurt my Sonic!"

She was cut off by Sonic stepping in front of her. Confused, she looked at Sonic expectantly; until he said "Stand back, Amy. We don't want you to get hurt."

His words cut her deeper than he realized. Once again, she felt like her skills were not needed or valued. She wanted to scream, but also did not want to distract Sonic from the fight at hand. The thought had been tormenting her for a time, but now to hear it firsthand from Sonic himself was just too painful. Amy buried her head in her hands and began to sob loudly. "I know it! You don't care, Sonic! I…I just wanted to help!" Without a word, Amy located the nearest door and ran through it crying.

Sonic and Tails looked in the direction she ran, with Sonic pondering on her words. "Amy!" His words ran hollow as Amy was no longer there to hear it.

"Can she get out of here, Sonic?"

"Bah! I'll deal with her later," Eggman growled. "And now with her out of the way, it's just the two of you. This will be even easier than I thought." Eggman's words were finished by a loud cackle.

Sonic ignored his nemesis's annoyingly loud laugh and took action. Sonic put his speed to good use and began to encircle the robot, whipping up a twister. The wind caused Tails to shield his face from the sheer force. To Sonic's dismay, the robot did not even budge. Sonic growled in frustration as the twister subsided. Tails pulled out a ring bomb and threw it at the machine in a vain attempt to do something, but after another short glitch fit, the machine regained its posture and prepared to attack.

It was then that the robot began spinning on its own, swinging its massive hammer in a circle. Sonic was fast enough to dodge it as he ducked under the massive weapon. Tails tried to fly up above, but was not fast enough. The hammer smacked him mid-flight and sent him launching through the air, causing Sonic to look on in horror. "Tails!" Sonic wanted to help, but didn't want to move as the hammer was spinning rapidly just centimeters from his head. Tails hit his back hard against the wall on the far side of the room and slumped to the floor. His face now meeting the steel floor, the hit knocked the small fox out cold.

Eggman looked on from his room and snickered. "Good. One down…and one more to go."

As fast as it began, the robot stopped spinning and once again began to wobble back and forth to recover from the hit. Sonic took this opportunity and curled into a ball. Sonic revved up and spun rapidly in place and took off like a round blue missile, heading straight for the robot's upper torso. Hitting hard, Sonic managed to knock the robot on its back. He then took the opportunity to strike the robot multiple times on its chest, shoulders, and head with his spinning tackles. Unfortunately, the best he could do was barely denting the robot's thick armor. Sonic ceased his attack when the robot stood up again.

Taking the chance and advantage of the robot's slow speed, Sonic dashed to the wall where Tails was. Sonic lifted his friend's limp body from the floor and rested him against the wall in an upright position. Sonic could still hear Tails breathing, but it was labored. He was alive, but hurt badly. Sonic glanced back at the Egg Hammer, which was slowly lumbering its way toward Sonic and Tails. Sonic rubbed his friend's head comfortingly, coaxing a weak groan from the unconscious fox. Sonic turned back to the robot and glared. This fight went from fun to personal. "Now you've gone and done it, big guy. Bring it on!"

Amy made her way to the outside of the base and walked away with her head hung. She would have been surprised to have not encountered any robot resistance if she was not so depressed at what Sonic said. While he might have thought he was protecting Amy, she was convinced that Sonic did not understand. She didn't want to be protected. She wanted to be part of the adventures that her hero and crush partook in. She wanted to be noticed and admired by Sonic. She's been trying to win his heart for a long time, but thought that this was the best chance at that happening. Now she felt like she had pushed Sonic away even more.

"Why does he not care? I try and try to prove I can keep up with him and be a part of his journeys. But he doesn't seem to notice." Amy made her way through the forest toward back in the direction of the beach with her head swimming with a plethora of questions and concerns without any answers or comforting thoughts. "Why does he not pay attention to me? Does he care and just doesn't want to show it? Am I just a burden? What do the others think of me and him?" After a while of walking, Amy stopped walking and looked back the way she came. The base could no longer be seen, but she knew it was there nonetheless. As she stared, her eyes narrowed and her thoughts suddenly turned from sadness to anger.

"No. No, no, NO! I did nothing wrong! I am just trying while still being me! I am going to help. I WILL help!" In her short, but anger flared tantrum, Amy thought on one more question. "How can I best help to prove myself to him?" This question turned out to be harder to answer than she thought, as she pondered on it for a good length of time. If she went back, it'd be the same thing over again with Sonic telling her to stay back. She also wondered how she could make it back in her present state before Sonic and Tails already made short work of that robot. "In my current state…" She let the thought hang until a solution finally came to her, prompting her to smile with devious satisfaction. "I know how to earn some respect from Sonic once and for all." With that thought she picked up her pace, turning her slow walk into a rapid jog.

Elsewhere on Mobius, in an isolated mountain range, the invading Decepticon force landed. Astrotrain landed on the top of a flat mountain top and opened the way for the others. One by one, the Decepticon forces touched Mobius soil, intent on conquest. Starscream himself looked out on the landscape in front of him. All around were tall rocky mountains and rolling hills with green and blue grass. From his high vantage point, he could make out a few cave entrances and lava pits. Analyzing the situation, Starscream addressed the other Decepticons, including Astrotrain who had since already reverted back to his robot form. "Listen up, Decepticons. This location will serve as our base of operations."

"I thought we were to trample that castle that Soundwave mentioned and set up there!?" Brawl asked.

"You are half right Brawl," Starscream answered. "We will demolish that place, but we won't set up there. We will bring the materials here and construct a new base here. These high mountains will prove very defensible from the life forms here. If they are foolish enough to attack us here, we will be ready for them."

Brawl interjected again. "You almost sound worried, Starscream! Don't tell me you're getting cold bases now!?"

"Never, Brawl. I am simply preparing for the inevitable. Furthermore, look around." Starscream gestured to at the lava streams and volcanic mountains gushing lava all around them. "This is obviously an active volcanic region. It will make a suitable place. But not in this exact spot. I'm thinking…" Starscream looked around and thought about it. Evaluating what was needed, he was looking for a place that was high up, full of raw energy potential, and a place where his dominance would be unmistakable. "Up there." Starscream pointed to a higher mountain that was belching smoke. "That volcano will serve nicely. The lava energy can be converted into energon that will provide an unlimited supply of energy for the base. This is perfect. Attention, Decepticons!"

The others acknowledged Starscream's command and stood obediently, waiting for their orders. Starscream looked at this spectacle and felt the power welling up inside him. He was in charge, and the other Decepticons would follow his orders while they were here. _While we're here. That's my problem isn't it?_ The thought hit Starscream so suddenly that he nearly lost his composure. They only followed Megatron's orders, and those orders were to obey Starscream. _Soon though…very soon. Megatron will be obeying MY commands. And once I have the Decepticons under my control, the rest of the universe will soon_ follow.

Starscream let the thought fester a bit before he finally gathered his thoughts. "Right then. Here are my instructions, Decepticons: Scrapper! You and your Constructicons stay here and lay the plans out for our base. I want it to be in the crater with a means of drawing in the lava for energy conversion. Combaticons; you will attack the castle and bring back all the rubble back here for repurposing to build our base. Astrotrain, go with them and assist in this endeavor. You have more cargo space than any of the Combaticons combined. Thundercracker, Skywarp. You two will assist me in tracking down these gemstones that Soundwave spoke of. I want to determine their usefulness myself. Now let's get to it. I want no delays."

"Wait, Starscream!" Starscream's attention turned to the voice that was Frenzy. The little cassette robot looked ready to blow a gasket. "What about Rumble? We should get him back."

"I said…NO DELAYS! Looking for Rumble will be a waste of time, Frenzy."

Frenzy was taken aback by Starscream's scathing remark about his twin robot. He looked to Soundwave for an answer that never came. Soundwave just stared down at Frenzy. They both knew what Frenzy wanted. He was one of the most vicious and malevolent Decepticons around, but if there's one thing he cared about more than destroying, it was the safety of his twin. He would never admit it, as both Starscream and Megatron thought that was a sign of weakness. Soundwave opened his chest cavity and looked again at Frenzy. Acknowledging his silent order, Frenzy quietly and reluctantly transformed and took his place inside Soundwave's chassis.

"As for you, Soundwave…don't think I've forgotten about you. I want you to also accompany the Combaticons. If that castle has some form of technology that you claim, I want you to analyze it and gather as much information on this planet from there as you can. The more we know, the easier this place will be to conquer." Starscream didn't want to let Soundwave out of his sight, but knew that his talents would be best suited for this sort of task.

"Now if there are no other concerns, I suggest you all get to your appointed tasks before I lose my patience any further."

Acknowledging this, the Decepticons got to work. Soundwave, Astrotrain, and the Combaticons took off and flew toward their destination. The Constructicons began surveying the mountain that Starscream Designated. Starscream and his two henchmen then flew away in search of the Chaos Emeralds. Starscream was not going to squander this opportunity at conquest or the opportunity to possibly put himself ahead of all his competition, including Megatron.

The battle back at Eggman's island base was still going nowhere. The Egg Hammer swung its hammer again and again, unable to successfully hit its intended target. Sonic jumped, ducked, and dived around the robot's offenses while still unable to penetrate its defenses. Sonic tackled the robot in the leg with a spin attack. The robot's legs were thin, but still sturdy. The robot stumbled, but did not fall completely over.

Frustration set in and Sonic got desperate. Sonic attacked the robot's thick armored hide in an attempt to damage it. He was unsuccessful, and paid the price for his hasty actions. The robot snatched Sonic in its free hand and held him firmly. Sonic squirmed and struggled to escape, but the Egg Hammer was not letting go. It stared at Sonic with its glaring green eyes, ready to squash him at any moment.

"HOOO-HO-HO-HO-HOOOH!" Eggman laughed, staring at this outcome with glee. Victory over Sonic the Hedgehog was finally his. _I didn't even have to use any of my other more impressive creations. Oh, I surprise myself sometimes._ "How does it feel, Sonic? To finally be in my grasp with no escape in sight. With one incredible machine, I have knocked your friend cold and managed to outmatch your speed with sheer strength and durability. It brings such…such joy to me that you will no longer be a pain in my backside!"

"You've waited your whole life to say that to me, haven't you?" Sonic's tone was one of bitter spite, devoid of humor. He was not interested in that now, not when his friend was unconscious and Amy was nowhere in sight.

"Only ever since we first met, hedgehog. After all this time, I've won. They say that persistence will pay off in the end. Well it turns out those philosophies are right. Just look at you now; a mere step away from final defeat. And me; one defeated hedgehog away from global domination!"

"Just…get it over with, Egghead."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Not so fast hedgehog. I want to savor this moment for all it's worth. I would have thought you would also like to have a prolonged lifespan…no matter how much shorter that may be. It was foolish of you to come here. For all your bluster and prowess, you could not hope to defeat the brilliant Dr. Eggman on his own turf."

"Huh? Sorry what was that? I can't here you."

"Don't mock me, hedgehog! I could crush you at any moment. I'd be more polite to your captor if I were you."

"No…I really can't. Don't you hear that?" Sonic's face went from grim to cocky almost immediately. Eggman was lost on what his nemesis was talking about. But to indulge Sonic's pointless need for entertainment, he listened carefully. That was when a noise caught his attention. It was muffled, but there. It was coming from outside his base, the sound of engines. Eggman was not bothered at all by it.

"You're just stalling, hedgehog. That is obviously the sound of my Egg Flappers flying around the base. Your distraction won't work."

Sonic was not so sure of that. The roaring was not a conglomeration of many smaller noises, but one big one. It was now apparent that it was getting louder. It was getting closer. Then he realized what he was hearing. The thought was both a relief and confusing. He looked over to where Tails was. He was conscious now, but a little shaky. _Tails is still here. Then who could be-?_ Sonic's own thoughts were broken by the sound metal slamming against metal, followed by a loud crash. He turned his head the best he could to see the source of the noise. He was completely stunned at the sight. It was the X Tornado, but in its walker form, where the engines were now walking feet, and sitting in the pilot's seat was none other than Amy Rose.

"WHAT!?" Eggman shouted in dismay. "I thought you chickened out, little girl!"

"I would NEVER leave my Sonic to battle this thing alone. I just needed a little more…help." Inside the cockpit, Amy looked at the controls. While she had very little experience piloting the X Tornado, the training she took while in deep space prepared her so that she could understand the basics. Speaking out loud to herself, Amy said "Okay, now which button?" She scanned for a few seconds before she grasped the control stick to operate the machine. "Ah, there it is." She pressed a button on the control stick itself. A barrage of laser fire erupted from the nose of the plane-mech. The Egg Hammer may have been a large and powerful robot, but the X Tornado was larger and more powerful.

Laser fire ripped through the robot's armor, melting holes in its chassis. After a few quiet seconds, the robot toppled over, sparking and sputtering. Its grip on Sonic loosened, and the blue hedgehog freed himself. He was surprised to see Amy in such a state, but glad nonetheless. He looked up at Amy, gave her a thumb up sign, and smiled in appreciation. He then seized the opportunity to rush over to Tails.

Amy found herself lost in thought. She had done what she thought was impossible. She managed to save her hero in a way that even surprised her. Piloting the X Tornado was usually and almost exclusively Tails's specialty. Yet here she was, piloting it like a pro even if she didn't see herself as such. But she was still nervous. Would Sonic acknowledge her rescue? Would he even care? These questions ate at her. Yet, all she could do was sit back and wait for the two to get aboard.

Eggman was completely shocked by this development. Amy of all creatures had defeated one of his deadliest creations with no trouble at all. For once, Eggman was completely dumbfounded and unsure of what to do. All he could do was silently watch this development unfold in front of him.

Sonic got to Tails, who was just now getting his senses back. He shook his head to get his bearings. He looked around at the room, noticing the downed Egg Hammer and the X Tornado, or X Cyclone as it was called when it mech form. "Uh…what did I miss, Sonic?"

"Later, little buddy. We should make like the wind and blow this joint." Sonic grabbed Tails by the arm to bring him along when they heard Eggman's voice again.

"OH, no you don't! You think you can get away that easily. I'll just send in the rest!"

"I don't think so, Eggman," retorted Amy. Amy repositioned the X Cyclone so that the laser cannons were now pointed up at the observation room. Eggman saw what was coming and froze in terror. "Take THIS!" Amy slammed down the button and watched as lasers opened on Eggman's location. Eggman and his robotic henchmen dived to the ground to avoid being vaporized. He growled at this development, as he was now being pinned down and unable to make a move against Sonic and his friends.

Sonic and Tails ran toward the plane, intent on getting out. Tails then took notice of the other robot in the room, the one that Eggman called Rumble. Tails then stopped moving, prompting Sonic to look back. "Sonic! What about the other machine?"

"What about it, Tails?" Sonic was curious as to why Tails would stop for some robot.

"It…seemed to be an enemy of Eggman. Perhaps we could…bring it back with us and fix it up?"

"Are…you sure that's a good idea, Tails? That machine could be just a test robot of Eggman's for all we know.

"I don't think so, Sonic. Not the way Eggman was reacting to it. We should bring it with us. Perhaps the enemy of our enemy is our friend."

Sonic thought for a second, pondering on Tails's words. While he was a firm believer that robots and hedgehogs did not mix will, he did trust Tails. "Okay, big guy. If you think it's a good idea?"

"Trust me, Sonic."

Tails and Sonic continued on their way to the plane as Sonic made a remark about their pilot. "But I think Amy seems bent on taking the Tornado for a ride. I…wouldn't want to disappoint."

Tails knew what Sonic meant and concurred. Amy stopped firing and opened the canopy. Since the Tornado could only seat two, Tails flew up and took a seat behind Amy while Sonic jumped on the wing. Tails then spoke to Amy. "Amy, since you're the one flying, I need you to do something for me. See that robot there? The little one?" Amy took a look and nodded. "Don't take off yet. I'm gonna activate the manual grapplers and grab it. We're pulling that robot out of here with us." A small hatch at Tails's feet opened up and a small lever came up. Tails pressed button and metallic looking claw attached to a snake-like arm came out of the bottom of the plane. Tails maneuvered the claw until he grasped Rumble in it. The arm then quickly retracted and pulled Rumble into the plane's small cargo space. "Okay, Amy. I got it. Take off."

Amy felt like she was on top of the world. She had finally contributed in such a way that even Tails was letting her drive his plane. But without getting too excited, she simply nodded and turned the plane around, jumping through the hole she made and out of the base. Mid fall, she activated the transformation sequence and the walker reverted back to its regular plane form, speeding off away from Eggman's island base.

"Take us back to my workshop, Amy." Tails instructed. "I have to attend to our…passenger." Amy silently nodded and continued to fly the plane smoothly, smiling the whole way. Tails thought back to the cargo they picked up and wondered if he did the right thing. Only time would prove him right, or horribly wrong.


	10. Chapter 10: First Strike

"I've never seen a machine like this before, Sonic." Ever since the heroic trio returned to Emerald Hill Zone, Tails spent that last hour looking over the robot he rescued from Eggman's clutches. Sonic took a spot in the workshop where Tails had tools and gadgets laying around while Tails had Rumble on the floor while he worked. Amy was not as interested in this as the two boys, so she decided not to stick around inside the workshop while still not traveling far. Like a kid at play, Tails was excited to open it up and have a look. Tails had tools all around him and parts of Rumble's chest next to him while he examined the robot's internal structure. "This is incredible. I cannot believe how complex and yet so simple that this creation is."

"What do you mean, Tails?" Sonic was curious, even though he did not share Tails's technical skills. Instead, he was content to sit back and listen.

"Well the first thing is this machine's power source. I'm no chemist, but I can tell you that this is not anything I have ever seen. Electricity is not what keeps this robot moving."

"What is it then?"

"Again, I don't know. It doesn't even have central battery for power storage. It seems to have redundant power supplies all over the place. Take one out and the others auto-correct and keep the robot functional." Tails put aside his tools and took out a small hand-held computer device, scanning it over the robot, running it back and forth. "I'm also detecting this same strange energy running through certain traces all over the robot…almost like…blood vessels?"

This got Sonic's attention. "Blood? So it's a robot that…bleeds?"

"No Sonic, not like that. I'm just finding it so fascinating that each of these traces…or wires I suppose…are carrying this energy all throughout this machine's body. In fact…energy readings suggest that this robot should be functional."

Sonic approached the machine, eyeing it suspiciously and confusingly. "Well either its playing possum or this bot is out of commission."

"The energy is strong, but not currently active. Something else is going on inside the robot. So…let's see what else our friend can tell us."

"I'm more interested in knowing where it came from," Said Sonic as he picked up the metallic chest piece that Tails removed earlier, looking at a symbol that seemed to be staring back at him. The purple symbol painted on the chest panel was triangular in shape with two glaring eye holes looking back at him. "I don't recognize this logo. I can guess that this thing was not built by Eggman."

"If his little altercation with this robot is any indication, I'd have to agree."

Sonic put the panel down, thinking on the implications of such an occurrence. "Symbols like that make me think…that there might be more like it out there. I just wonder, Tails; Are they friend or foe?"

Miles away, at Castle Acorn, Cream and the Princess were waiting outside just as Cream's mother, Vanilla, showed up. Upon arrival, she grabbed her daughter in a tight hug, relieved to see her unharmed. "Cream, my dear. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, mother. Princess Sally was kind enough to let me stay here in while you were on your way."

Vanilla released her daughter and stood up to face Sally. She bowed politely and smiled. "Thank you, your highness, for keeping a close eye on my little Cream."

"Oh it was nothing, Miss Vanilla," Sally replied. "She's as safe here as anywhere on Mobius at the moment, I suppose. That Robotnik and the trouble he gets up to."

"I understand."

"But Sonic and Tails chased him off. So all is well in the region."

Cream then started tugging on the Princess's sleave. "Umm, Miss Sally? I think we have some visitors coming." Cream pointed forward, causing Vanilla to turn around and the three of them to look in the direction of what Cream was pointing at. In the distance, the three Mobians beheld the sight of three vehicles approaching the castle quickly, kicking up dirt as they did. Three more were approaching from the air.

Sally looked on in confusion. She had never seen the type of vehicles before. Cream and Vanilla on the other hand, did. Cream recalled seeing them before, seeing the forms of a blue military truck, a jeep, and a tank on the ground, while two space shuttles and a helicopter were coming from the sky. "Those look like those machines from Chris's planet. I remember seeing them in a book at one point."

"But how did they get here?" Vanilla asked curiously.

Sally thought for a moment, uncertain of what to make of the machines. "Perhaps they are here to help?" As they got closer, Sally could make out the unmistakable sight of guns on the machines. This made her nervous, on top of the fact they were approaching fast, almost aggressively fast. "You two, get inside the castle walls."

Cream looked up at the princess in confusion. "What?"

"Just do what she says, dear," Vanilla encouraged. "I'm sure she has her reasons." The two went through a small door built into the castle as Princess Sally awaited the arrival of these strange machines.

Onslaught addressed his fellow Combaticons and Astrotrain. "You all remember the plan. When I say 'transform', the ground team will transform and attack while the air support provides just that; air support. We hit them hard and fast."

"Now you're speaking my language, Onslaught!" Brawl shouted with cruel excitement. "There seems to be a small flesh creature blocking our way. I'll run it down!" Brawl began to pick up speed, before Onslaught interjected.

"No, Brawl. Stick to the plan. We want to have the element of surprise."

Brawl felt his patience fading fast. "What surprise?! We're clearly visible!"

"But they may not know of our intentions or who we are. That alone is surprise enough. Now wait for it." Onslaught waited for the right moment as the Decepticon team moved closer. He didn't want his already unstable team screwing up his brilliant plan.

"Are we close enough yet," Vortex asked from above. The psychopathic helicopter was eager to make some heads spin, rattle, and roll.

From inside Astrotrain, a small cassette player spoke to the rest of the Decepticon strike team. "Advanced computer technology detected within structure. Recommend retrieval operation before demolition."

"The plan, Soundwave, was-" Onslaught began.

Before he could finish, Soundwave cut him off. "Orders from Starscream were to also retrieve information on energy sources."

Onslaught remained quiet for a bit, getting annoyed that his plan was being altered before it was even executed. "Hmm...Very well. Astrotrain. While we keep these life forms busy, you drop Soundwave inside that place so he can retrieve his precious information." Soundwave did not react to Onslaught's attempt at sarcasm. His mind was focused on the mission and that alone.

"Almost, Vortex," Onslaught responded. "Okay. Combaticons...Transform!"

At his command, Brawl the tank and Swindle the jeep followed Onslaught's lead and transformed into their robot forms. Swindle's large cannon moved and attached itself to his left forearm while the smaller blaster became a hand-held pistol that he carried in his left. Brawl stood taller and bulkier than Swindle, and was not afraid to show it. He growled and roared as he charged forward just in front of Onslaught.

"Let's get'em, boys!" Brawl shouted with deranged anticipation.

Sally was unsure of what to make of these new intruders. Inside, she was afraid, as if she knew that these machines were bad news. However, despite her hesitation, she stood just in front of them defiantly."Stop! Who are you?!"

Still charging, Onslaught declared their presence in an intimidating and prideful bellow. "Out of our way, flesh creature. The Combaticons are here demolish your home and repurpose for our own use!"

Sally had no choice but to duck into a ditch as the Combaticons crashed forward. Their footsteps seemed to create small tremors as they marched over Sally's hiding spot as they stopped at the front gate. The gate itself was too small for them to fit through, but Onslaught had no intention of going in quietly. He turned his attention to Brawl. "Ready your sonic blaster, Brawl."

"I'll blow this whole wall down!" Brawl reached behind his back and pulled out a large pistol-like weapon, aiming at the door. The thought of the destruction he would cause caused his circuits to writhe with anticipation.

Inside the walls of the city, the sound of the tremors had caused the citizens and guards still inside the castle walls to step outside to see what the commotion was about. Now that the noise just outside the gate had stopped, it got them even more curious as many citizens approached the main gate. Cream and Vanilla huddled together behind a large statue, both more worried than curious.

All of a sudden, with a loud thundering crash, the gate and the surrounding wall exploded wide open. Pieces of metal and stone, large and small, flew in all directions. Out of panic, the many anthropomorphic creatures scattered in an attempt to not get squashed by falling debris. Not all were successful. The ones closest to the doors were the least fortunate, as the intense shockwave sent them flying backwards. The guards that were not caught in the explosion brought their rifle weapons to bare, ready to face whatever came through the opening, which was shrouded in a thick dust cloud.

Finally, through the large dust cloud that was left behind from the explosion, Brawl, Swindle, and Onslaught crashed through, entering the wide, green, courtyard that was just outside the castle. They looked on at the screaming and terrified citizens, towering over them like giants. Then, a group of guards came forward, attempting to block their way. Brawl let out a ferocious battle cry and stomped the ground violently. The force of the strike caused many of the soldiers to lose their balance and fall over, stunned by the force of these invaders. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Brawl took his sonic blaster and aimed right at a group of guards. the poor creatures did stand a chance as Brawl pulled the trigger, the force of his blaster instantly vaporizing them.

Onslaught looked at Swindle and pointed in a direction to Swindle's right, silently ordering him to go in that direction. Swindle nodded and obeyed. Onslaught circled around the other way while Brawl headed down the middle. Onslaught found a small group of guards standing in his way as they opened fire. Onslaught was impressed with their tenacity, but was not impressed with their strategy. "Your weapons are useless against me," Onslaught taunted as the laser bolts barely left a scratch on his armor. Onslaught responded in kind as he pointed his large pistol at the creatures, which to them might as well have been a cannon. They faired no better than the first group, being instantly vaporized by Onslaught's own weapon. Onslaught scoffed and proceded onward, looking up as he heard the sound of flying machines overhead. He activated his long range communicator and linked with the aerial Decepticons. "Blast Off. Vortex. Attack their fortress directly; bombing runs and sweep attacks. Understood?"

"Let's get this task over with," Blast Off sighed as he loaded his bays with bombs. Vortex in his helicopter form followed close behind Blast Off, leaving Astrotrain high above the battle field.

"You stay out of range, Astrotrain," Onslaught commanded. "We'll call you in when we've reduced this place to salvagable rubble."

"I can see it from up here. I'll know when to come in for a landing!" Astrotrain felt himself getting annoyed with the state of things. The first major offensive on this planet, and he was reduced to pick-up and salvage duty. He waited as the slaughter below continued. "Just let me know when, Soundwave."

"Source coming from the tallest tower. Get into position and drop me."

At his beckon, Astrotrain flew high over the tower and opened his side door. The shuttle shaped Decepticon rolled onto his side and Soundwave in his small cassette player form slid out of the open hatch. While in free-fall, Soundwave transformed into his robot form and grabbed the tower to stop his descent.

Cream and Vanilla managed to slip away in the confusion, narrowly avoiding Swindle's sight. They escaped through the gaping hole the Combaticons created in the wall. Vanilla ran with her daughter in hand, not willing to let go of her. When they got outside, they looked around frantically for Princess Sally. Cream began calling her name, but most of her shouts were drowned out by the sound of crashes, gunfire, explosions, and screaming. It was a horrible sound to hear. Finally, in a ditch behind some bushes, they saw something stir. Vanilla approached first, not wanting to risk her daughter's safety. Her concern soon took a new turn when she saw the princess pull herself out of the ditch.

Vanilla gasped. "Princess! Are you all right?"

"Forget me. What about the people inside."

Vanilla turned her face toward the fighting inside with a sad look on her face. "It's not going well in there. Everyone's...Everyone's dieing."

Sally felt a wave of anger fly through her. It was enough that Eggman attacked her castle and her people. "So he attacks us head on and fails...Now he sends his machines to take us out instead? That coward!" Sally pulled out a small handheld computer from within her vest pocket and spoke into it. "Nicole. Nicole, are you online?"

A silence followed, but soon a synthesized female voice came through the speakers. "I am, Sally. I am reading multiple hostiles inside the city walls coming from the air and the ground. I-"

"We see them, Nicole," Sally interrupted. "I hate to do this, but it seems like a full scale evacuation is in order. Broadcast the orders to the entire castle and then download yourself into this portable unit."

"On it, Sally." With those words, the computer went silent and Sally turned back to Vanilla and Cream, with the latter holding onto her mother and whimpering in fear. "What do we do?" Cream squeaked.

As much as Sally didn't want to say it, she knew the ugly truth. These machines were brutal and would most likely destroy her home and slaughter a large number of her people. She was brave, but not stupid. "We...wait. It's all we can do right now." Sally held back her tears of sorrow, wanting to stay strong in front of the two civilians she had with her. Under her breath, she muttered, "I wish Sonic was here."

Inside the walls, it was a massacre. The Combaticons were destroying all in their path. They all approached the castle, which while still much larger then they were, did not give them pause. Blast Off and Vortex attacked from above, demolishing a large portion of the upper towers and walkways with bombs, missiles, and laser fire. On the ground, Brawl and Onslaught attacked the lower structures in an attempt to cause it to crumble in on itself, using a combination of gun shots and brutal punches. Swindle was a distance away from the battle, taking shots when he could to make himself look like he was helping. However, his mind was elsewhere. He was waiting for the place to crumble so he could rummage through it to salvage any weapons or technology that he could make a profit on. No matter how hard the Mobian soldiers inside fought, they were no match for the giant robots that were destroying the structure.

Despite the towering robots, the guards focused on the new instructions given to them as Nicole recorded Sally's orders through their ear piece communication devices. They hustled as many citizens as they could through the open hole in the wall that the Combaticons had created. Fortunately for them, the machines seemed more interested in destroying the castle itself instead of its people. People ran as fast as they could while the brave guards held their ground, putting the safety of the civilians before their own.

Nicole's voice came back over the handheld's speakers. "Evacuation underway and nearly complete, Sally."

Sally breathed a sigh of relief. She consented that even if she could not save her home, then she could at least save her people. "Good work, Nicole. Now download yourself to my portable device."

"Of course, Sally."

On the tower, Soundwave made his move. He slammed his fist through the top of the tower, creating an opening that he fell through and subsequently landing on his feet. The chamber inside was large enough for his large body, if just barely. Soundwave surveyed his surroundings and took notice of a computer terminal against the wall. Soundwave walked over and knelt down to it, as it was a rather small device by his standards.

Activating his download function, Soundwave placed a hand on the surface of the machine. Instantly, his memory banks were filled with information about the planet. He had information on the major powers, history, technology, and locations. All of it was as he expected, but just as the download ended, he caught something else. It was so fleeting that many would have missed it. There was another external source accessing this system through a wireless private connection. If he had the time, he would have traced it to track down the source. However, he could feel the place shaking as the Combaticons outside pressed their attack. He stored the data he retrieved and jetted his way out through the hole he made.

Back inside the walls, the last of the guards started to make their way to the exit, satisfied that they had saved the civilians. Finally, the moment that everyone waited for arrived. The citizens looked on in sadness while the Combaticons looked on with satisfied accomplishment. With one final blast from Brawl's and Onslaught's sonic blasters, Swindle's scattergun, and a finaly strafing run by Blast Off and Vortex, the castle began to crumble. The many towers and walls began to crack and fall apart. The entire structure began to cave in on itself.

From a distance, Sally looked desperately at her computer and said, "Nicole? Nicole, are you there?"

"I am here, Sally. I managed to complete my download just as the main computer room was demolished. I apologize for cutting it close."

"At least you're okay. Now let's get out of here before Eggman's robots decide we are a better target than Castle Acorn." Sally, Cream, and Vanilla slipped from their hiding place and began to move quickly away from the castle, which was now in ruins.

"Where are we going, Princess?" Vanilla asked.

"I had hoped to not use this place, but it looks like it is time. We're headed to a secluded area in the Great Forest that is hidden away from many prying eyes."

"Will we be safe there, Princess?" Vanilla asked in a worried tone. "And what about the others?"

I first need to to get the civilians to safety. Then I can work on a plan to deal with Eggman's robots."

"Don't worry," Cream said. "Sonic will save us." Cream looked back at the now ruined castle, and for the first time in her life, was not sure that what she was saying was true.

The Combaticons stood amongst the destruction they had caused, pleased with the outcome. Onslaught looked around as his fellows set to work as per his instructions. They were to gather as much as they could for the Constructicons. Part of Onslaught wondered why Starscream would send them on this mission, which would have been better suited to for the Constructicons. However, Onslaught was a military robot to the bone and respected the chain of command, even if the one in command was in incompetent moron as far as he was concerned.

Onslaught oversaw the landing of Vortex, Soundwave, Astrotrain, and Blast Off; the first one being the only one to transform into his robot form. "Blast Off. You will assist in the transport of these materials back to headquarters."

"If you insist, Onslaught," Blast Off said contemptly. "A great Combaticon, and I am reduced performing this menial task of cargo hauling. Just glorious."

"You realize I perform that that 'menial' task, right?" Astrotrain cut in.

"Yes, and you do a splendid job at it. I'm just saying that we should stick with the duties we perform so exceptionally well, Astrotrain; yours being a transport."

"Enough," Onslaught commanded. "I will hear no more from either of you. Now then, Soundwave? Did you retrieve this information?"

"Affirmative."

"Good. Now then, don't just stand around. Brawl, start loading. And Swindle...Stop sifting through the rubble for trinkets. We have work to do."

Swindle looked up from where he was looking, holding a pile of scrap in his arms and trying to look as innocent as possible. "Oh I...I was just trying to salvage some of this. You uh...Never know when it could come in handy."

"You entrepreneur spark is not needed right now! Just get these raw materials loaded into Astrotrain and Blast Off!"

Dropping his bounty, Swindle conceded. "Yes, boss." With that, Swindle got to work, carrying out Onslaughts commands. Onslaught did not participate, instead standing back and keeping an eye on his troops to make sure they did as ordered.

Soundwave stood apart from the others as well. He was sifting through the information he had gathered from the computer. He made sure to mark places of interest that would be useful to their conquest. However, despite keeping focused on his work, he could not shake the feeling he got while connected to the computer, and questions began to enter his processes. He knew there was something else connected to the computer, but the reasons for such eluded him. It was too subtle to be a hacking attempt, but yet not to brash that gave itself away completely. It was as if something inside the computer was trying to get out. Somehow, Soundwave had missed something during his download of the data, but not on accident. Something or someone was keeping something from him. Now he had another goal; find out what that something was. Any loose ends could prove detrimental to the plans of Megatron.


	11. Chapter 11: Seeking the Emerald

Away from the chaos at Castle Acorn, Starscream and his team of Seekers were flying high in the clouds of Mobius, ever alert for the first energy signature to cross their scanners. Below them, the low rolling hills seemed to be lit up with the color green. The lakes sparkled a beautiful blue. These were things that Starscream would be more than happy to scour from this planet, along with every living thing on it.

Starscream's thoughts were interrupted by Thundercracker's voice. "I am detecting energies similar to what Soundwave discovered in the small crystals he surveyed. I believe the chaos emerald is nearby."

Starscream silently reviewed his scans to confirm Thundercracker's claim. As he said, they were there, and at ground level. "We'll have to go lower to pinpoint its position. Follow me!" Starscream took a nose dive toward the ground, followed shortly by Thundercracker and Skywarp. As they flew, Starscream could feel the energy growing stronger. "It is directly ahead, whatever it is. And it will soon be mine."

Tails and Sonic were still inside the workshop, with Tails still looking over the robot they retrieved from Eggman's base, Rumble. In the time that had passed since, Rumble had parts of him taken out, put back in, and removed again during this session of endless study. His chest plate was still detached, pieces of his shoulder armor were removed, and he had a multitude of wires and scanning devices attached to him.

Sonic found himself leaning against the wall, tapping his foot as Tails went about his work. However, the impatient blue hedgehog could only wait around so long before his running legs got twitchy. "Don't you want to take a break, Tails? You've been staring at that scrap pile for hours." Sonic finally asked his friend after he spent hours examining the deactivated Rumble.

"Huh? Oh, uh...Sorry. It's just that...This robot is unlike anything we have encountered. The things we could learn. But I suppose a break won't hurt." Tails put his tools down and placed all of Rumble's spare parts on a desk next to the workbench Rumble was laying on. As he started to exit the room, he turned back to Sonic. "Hey, Sonic. I think I'll make some tea before returning to work. Care for a cup?"

"Thanks, little bro, but I'm gonna speed on out of here. I've been standing around here for quite some time. I gotta make sure to keep the ol' leg muscles working, right?" Sonic chortled at his own sarcastic comment.

"You're always working your 'leg muscles', Sonic," Tails joked back. "Well, I suppose I'll talk to you later."

"Take care of yourself." Sonic proceeded to the door and ran out, leaving a blur behind him.

Tails chuckled at his friend's departure. He was never quite sure where Sonic got all of his energy. Tails went to the kitchen and started to prepare some hot water for his tea. All the while, he continued to think on the strange robot they had rescued. So many questions swam through his head. _Where did that robot come from? Who built it? Why was it fighting against Eggman? What was the energy that kept it powered?_ Then, Sonic's question once again came to mind; _Is it friend or foe?_ "Perhaps I should reactivate it. It could tell me so much more on its own." Tails finally prepared his tea and sat down to drink, contemplating his next move. He wondered if activating it was a good idea. "If it is friendly, then I suppose there would be no harm in turning it back on. But...If it's not..." The thought hung in Tails's head for a while. The idea of it being hostile did cross his mind more and more as the thought about it. Finally, Tails sighed and said to himself, "Perhaps some fresh air will clear my head."

He took his tea and went outside, breathing in the fresh Mobian air, still thinking about what to do with his find. His thoughts were interrupted when he looked to the sky and saw three flying objects heading his way. The sound of roaring engines came through as they got closer, and Tails soon recognized them as some kind of jets. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until they suddenly turned and started to head straight for his house.

Puzzled, Tails put his drink down and flew to the X-Tornado that was parked on the other side of his home. He climbed into the cockpit and reached for a pair of binoculars he kept in a compartment on the floor to get a better look. The first thing he noticed was the same design of jet, but different paint jobs. One was a black and purple, one was blue, and the lead jet was mostly white with patches of blue and red. It was when they started to head toward the ground that Tails saw things that made him even more confused.

The first really strange thing he noticed was when he looked at the wings. They had the same symbol as the robot he had in his workshop. "Hmm...They must be here in regards to their robot. I wonder who..." He cut himself off when he looked at the cockpits and was startled. "Th-There's no one flying those jets. How?" Tails continued to stare in disbelief as they got closer. Feeling a little nervous at the oncoming planes, he ducked down in his cockpit, with only his eyes and the top of his head poking out.

"Energy readings are just ahead, Starscream," Skywarp reported. "I can't get a solid fix, though."

"No matter. We'll tear this whole place down if we have to." As the three Seekers reached their destination, they all transformed back into their identical robot forms The beneath them shook as all that heavy metal struck earth when they landed. The three took a second to observe their surroundings. The only artificial structures around were the house and larger garage in front of them and the flying machine just to the side.

Tails gasped at the sight. He could not believe what he saw. He had seen jets before, but transforming jets was a new one; transforming jets that turned into robots. _So that explains why they had no pilots._ He admired how every part they had seemed to coincide with their transformations. Their wings simply became extra parts on their backs and their heads seemed to rise from within their own torsos. Tails also noticed that they were armed with some kind of guns mounted on their arms.

Starscream used his optics to try and pinpoint the location of the energy source. Unfortunately, he was not equipped with the same sensory equipment that Soundwave. It was at this point that Starscream secretly cursed himself for not having Soundwave accompany him. Not only was he better at searching for specific objects, but Starscream was unsure of what Soundwave would do to undermine his plans while Starscream was not watching him.

Finally, Starscream turned to his subordinates. "Skywarp, I want you to take a closer look at that flying machine and search. Thundercracker...Destroy this structure. We'll search the rubble for what we seek."

Tails's eyes went huge at what he just heard. These machines were going to destroy his home. _But why? What are they after, and why is it so important that they feel the need to completely demolish my home?_ Tails had no time to think, only time to react. Despite his better judgment, the young boy jumped up from his plane and shouted, "Wait!"

The three Seekers turned to face the voice, their weapons trained on Tails. "Were you spying on us, flesh creature," Starscream asked threateningly.

Tails struggled to find his words. "N-No. Please, whoever you are, I didn't mean it any harm. If it is yours, you can have it back. Just please don't-"

"Silence, pathetic creature!" Starscream bellowed.

Tails raised his hands and cringed, not wanting to appear threatening, even though he was sure he could not threaten these machines. "I...I found a robot with a symbol that matches yours. That is what you seek, right?"

Starscream was taken aback by this news. His piercing gaze narrowed even further at Tails. "A robot? With our same insignia? How the slag did you come across a Decepticon!?"

"D-Decepticon? I had no idea. If I had..."

Thundercracker glanced at Starscream while still keeping his weapon focused on Tails. "You don't think he means Rumble do you, Starscream?"

"Enough," Starscream interrupted. "Where is this Decepticon?"

"It-It's inside the workshop," Tails answered timidly as he pointed to the larger structured joined with his house. Starscream moved in front of it and slammed his fist through the top of the roof, tearing pieces of the roof off and throwing them aside. Tails looked on with disbelief. "Hey! Stop, stop! Is that really necessary? I said you can have it back!" Tails's pleas were ignored as Starscream looked through the massive hole he made, nearly tearing the entire roof off.

Just as Tails had said, he saw Rumble laying on a table. Starscream's face twisted into one of anger and disgust as he focused on Tails again. "What have you done to him?"

"Him? Oh...I uh...I was..." Tails didn't know how to explain his study of the robot, which apparently had angered his larger comrade.

"Looks to me like he was dissecting him, Starsream."

"Indeed, Skywarp," Starscream confirmed. "Such a transgression must be punished," Starscream fixed his venomous glare and his weapon back at Tails.

"I didn't know. I swear. I thought...He...Was just an ordinary robot."

"We are not ordinary robots, you dim-witted animal!" Starscream yelled. "We are the mighty Decepticons, and you have the pleasure of beholding me, the leader of the Decepticons; Starscream!"

"Umm...Isn't Megatron the-"

Starscream slammed his fist on the top of Thundercracker's head as the words exited his mouth. "Don't you dare, Thundercracker."

"Well please...Uh, Starscream. I can see that you are angry, and I am sorry my actions toward your friend. Just take him and go. I don't want any more trouble."

"You're not getting off that easily, creature." Starscream raised a single foot in an attempt to stomp on Tails, but the fox managed to dodge just as the large Decepticon slammed his foot down. Tails laid there and looked up, feeling completely helpless now. "You have defiled a Decepticon, an action to which the only retribution is death." Starscream switched the ammo setting in one of his weapons to utilize bullets instead of his null ray, intent on killing Tails.

As Starscream leveled his gun at his target, Tails began to regret everything he had done in the span of a day. Tails went from being fascinated by the robot he had found to wishing he had never laid eyes on it. Now it was his curiosity that was going to be the end of him. Tails covered his head and closed his eyes, hoping it would be quick.

All of a sudden, Starscream let out a startled grunt as he was suddenly struck by a heavy force right in the side of his head. The hit knocked him off balance and he nearly stumbled into Thundercracker. He righted himself and looked all around. "Who dares strike the mighty Starscream?!"

"Down here!" Starscream looked down in the direction of the new voice and was both startled and appalled. Standing in front of Tails as if to protect him, stood a red echidna with spiked gloves and a fierce glare in his eyes. "Why don't you pick on someone who can fight back?!"

"Knuckles!" Tails exclaimed. "But how-"

"No time, get out of here now!" Knuckles barked.

While his two henchmen were still trying to figure out exactly what just happened, Starscream looked down at this new face and laughed. "You really think you are a match for me?"

"Let's find out!" Knuckles grinned as the words exited his mouth as he lunged for Starscream. Despite the significant difference in size, Knuckles delivered a strong enough punch to Starscream's lower leg that the Decepticon Seeker stumbled. and dropped to on knee.

"What the-?" Starscream did not get a chance to finish as Knuckles quickly followed up the punch to his leg with a solid punch to his chin. Starscream's head recoiled from the hit. He was surprised that such a small creature could be so strong, which made his anger rise even more. He looked down at the red echidna and shrieked, "You will pay for that!" Starscream raised one of his fists and slammed it into the ground on top of Knuckles, but the echidna was nimble enough to roll to the side. The only thing Knuckles felt was being a little shaken up from the impact on the ground so close to him. "Hold still!"

As Knuckles waited for the next move, Starscream was suddenly struck by the realization that he was fighting alone and his comrades were not helping. He turned to face them. "What are you microchip morons standing around for?! Destroy-" Starscream then looked back at the ground, and with his eyes now evaluating everything, he caught sight of the flying machine he saw starting to fly away, with the yellow fox in the cockpit. As it lifted off, he yelled again as he pointed to the X-Tornado. "Don't just stand there like idiots! After him!"

Thundercracker and Skywarp hesitated at first as they looked up at the jet, but then transformed into their jet forms and took to the air, leaving Starscream alone with Knuckles. Both individuals faced each other down with glares of contempt in their eyes. "I will squash you like the insect you are!"

Starscream slammed another fist on top of Knuckles and this time, connected with his target. He snickered at the satisfaction of crushing the echidna that dared to attack him. His satisfaction soon turned to unpleasant surprise as he realized his fist was being acted on by force. Knuckles, using all of the strength he could muster, was holding Starscream's large fist up. "Why you little pest!" Starscream lifted his fist up and with the other hand, snatched Knuckles up in a strong grip. Knuckles fought and struggled, but the Decepticon's hand was not loosening. With a growl of anger, Starscream threw the echidna as hard as he could into Tails's house, leaving a hole in the wall where Knuckles entered.

"NOW DIE!" Starscream jumped back from the house and a pair of compartments opened on either side of his chest, revealing a salvo of missiles. With a final shriek of rage, Starscream unleashed a volley of three missiles at the house, which exploded on impact. The house was suddenly lit up in flames and the force of the explosions caused the entire structure to crumble in on itself. "That's one less annoying flesh creature to deal with."

Starscream took a moment to survey the surroundings. He was puzzled to discover that the energy readings that were detected before were no longer in the immediate area. _What? Where did it go?_ Starscream's thoughts then turned to the sky, remembering the escaping fox. "That animal. It must have been inside his jet." Starscream was just about to take off and follow, but then he looked down at a still unconscious Rumble through the torn roof of Tails's workshop. "Ah yes...You." Starscream took another moment to think before finally scooping him up, along with the small pieces of Rumble that Tails had removed from him. Keeping Rumble in his arms, Starscream created a storage compartment for the small Decepticon inside his frame as he transformed into his jet form and took to the skies, intent on catching up with his fellow Seekers and the prey they were chasing.


End file.
